All that is Left of Me
by 96thPerson
Summary: Six years after the war ended, dark forces from post-apocalyptic Elrios threaten the Elven lands. Rena is sent on a mission to activate the seals to destroy the portal, but must regain the help and trust of her old friends allong the way. Insane!Elsword, Aggressive!Chung, Mute!Eve, RavenxAisha, ElswordxEve, Character Death
1. Prologue

Lolz, okay, so this entire plot came from the sole reason of me wanting to write me some Insane!IS XD Basically, it's post apocalyptic Elrios, where the demons, Nasods, and Dark Elves have partnered and desecrated/taken it over. They've also managed to claim Hamel and are now spreading into the Elven lands, where our story begins...

There are ages to give you an idea of how old they were when the war started. Their ages are pretty wonky though, I'll cross-check for correctness later, but for now, this is where they stand :/ The gang is also listed in order of appearance.

Rena - Night Watcher (Age Unknown)

Elsword - Infinity Sword (Age 24)

Raven - Veteran Commander (Age 32)

Aisha - Dimension Witch (Age 26)

Chung - Tactical Trooper (Age 24)

Eve - Code Battle Seraph (Age Unknown)

* * *

_Rena..._

_Rena._

_There's a voice, calling out to me. It's distinct, I know it, but I can't place who's..._

_Rena... _

_Wake up... Get moving... The clock is ticking, get up._

_It's getting louder now, closer... It's female, I know that, medium pitch... I can't place a face, but there's a name..._

_Your final days are approaching, Rena, get up, get up, seize the day!_

_It's now yelling at me. I want to yell back, but I find that I can't move, I can't even speak. _

_Rena!_

_Rena! _

_RENA! _

I woke up with a jolt, hot and sweaty. It smelled terrible, like gun powder and smoke. At first I thought I smelled blood, but realized it was only from the meat the Elder kept in the store house. She must have been cooking some. Of course, that was it. That was the burning smell, it wasn't me being jittery from the war or anything. "RENA!"

The Elder was standing at my door, two children by her sides. "What are you doing, get up! The house is on fire!"

I gaped at her, before looking around and gasping. I jumped up, rushing to my wardrobe and grabbing some random clothing, and then sprinted to the door with the Elder, grabbing my bow and Erendil as I ran. We reached the front of the house and I made a mad dash down the stairs, only pausing to avoid some falling wood. I coughed as dust and smoke started licking at my face, and I covered my face with the sleeve of my nightshirt and the pile of clothes I had grabbed.

"Rena, are you alright?" The Elder yelled down at me. I ran back up the stairs, picking up one of the children. "Yes, I'm fine. We need to get out of here."

"Rena, summon some nature spirits to help us." She commanded, picking up the other child. I nodded, and then focused my energy. I didn't chant or prey, I just waited, and waited...

There were some crashing sounds as the wooden beams above me splintered and fell, and I quickly stomped on the floor, a green aura suspending the wood. With a shout, I kicked it, sending it flying across the room and into another, already burning beam.

I could feel the spirit's energy filling my body, the fire was starting to not bother me anymore. I turned to the Elder and took her hand, leading her down the stairs and to the back door, where we sprinted out into the cool, moist morning air.

It had just rained, and it was already starting to drizzle again, the two girls shivering at the cold. If it weren't for the spirits floating around and flowing into my body, I would have frozen as well, in just my night shirt and underwear.

"So what happened?" I asked, watching the house as it continued burning. I would have been afraid, if it weren't for the fact this happened way to often. "Was it Reala again?"

"No, we think it was Nico trying to set off some fireworks." The Elder replied, sighing. "I need to go and have a good chat with the boy, he gets in too much trouble for someone so young. Gives his mother heart attacks!"

I chuckled, placing the girl I was carrying back down on the floor, and she went and joined the other girl at the Elder's side. This was a regular occurance, weather it was an accident or on purpose. This was obviously an accident, and thankfully, no one was hurt. I pulled my jeans on, and wrinkled my nose at the one ratty leg. It had a large tear in the knee and the leg from the calf down was so ragged, I just wore it over my boots. I tucked the other leg into my boot as I pulled them on, sighing to myself as I thought about how sad it would have been if I had left them by the door.

I slipped out of the ash-covered night shirt and into something much more clean, a simple white dress shirt and a faded, old leather vest, and then I pulled on my green jacket. It had a large hole at the end of one sleeve, the other cut so I could fit my thumb through, and the bottom was ratty and torn, rendering the pockets useless.

Quickly strapping Erendil and it's sheath around my waist, I turned to the Elder. "What can I do today, ma'am?"

"Well, I was going to talk about that after breakfast, I'm afraid it will be no easy task." She replied with a little bit of a morbid tone. "Let's get some food, first, I bet everyone is staving, hm?"

After eating, I followed the Elder to the temple, where she sat down in her chair. A few members of the Holy Guard, including my parents, flanked her from all sides. I caught the eye of my mother, and we smiled and waved at each other, before turning our attention back to the Elder.

"Rena, I understand that you have once been to the human world before." She said, crossing her legs. I nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"You were also the one who brought what was left of the human race back here to live among us, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"How long has it been since the Demon's Invasion? Four, five years?"

"Six, ma'am."

"Yes, six years. In these past six years, we've lived peacefully along side the humans, but the time of peace is coming to an end. We are getting ready to abandon this village and move to a different location, somewhere far away from the Portal. But in order to do that, we are going to seal off the Portal forever." She explained. I understood her reasoning, but I still felt angry. My friends... My family was still out there somewhere, and I needed to go back and find them, and I couldn't do that if the portal just _closed_. But then I thought about it for a second. I was never allowed to go much farther than the outskirts of Velder before, maybe this would be the perfect time to find them and bring them back.

I took a deep breath, before kneeling. "I await your orders, Elder."

"You are to go to Elrios and activate the three seals there, before returning and activating the four here. Only an Elf can do this, but you may take as many of the Guard and Militia as you need." The Elder instructed, her finest troops standing in a line next to her. I glanced over all of them, but none of them were what I needed in a battle. I needed a mage, Aisha's magic. And I needed a tactician, Eve's intellect. I needed a ranged ally, Chung fit perfectly. And swordsmen... Raven and Elsword, plus Elsword had some crazy sharp instincts. None of the men or women presented to me fit any of the qualifications I needed, sadly. "I will go alone." I finally decided.

She looked a bit surprised, but nodded anyway. "Good luck, Rena, may the sprits guide your way and protect you."

I summersaulted into a crouch upon exiting the portal, listening for any signs of someone watching me. I didn't hear anything, so I gave my nose a try, but grimaced at the smell of sulfur and iron that hit my nostrils. I stepped out, past the cover of trees, and to the edge of the cliff, where I could see all of the Velder area spread out before me.

I gasped. Fires were creating huge, billowing, black clouds, covering the sky in an eternal darkness. There were Dark Elves, Demons, and Nasods, roaming freely and wreaking havoc, fighting each other and pillaging whatever was left of the town. Velder Castle's main wall was nothing but rubble, and ripped and torn black and red flags waved freely in the wind.

What had happened in the time I was gone? I knew that when I left, Elrios was in a terrible state, but to come back to this...

The only thought that crossed my mind as I slid down the side of the cliff was, _I can only hope my friends are alright._

* * *

Like? Dislike? Idk where this is going yet, but I'm going to update it in fours, so if you wait a while, I'll have been compensating for it :D


	2. Chapter 1

I waited until nightfall, when the demons would be on their guard the least, if at all. I ducked and tumbled through the city, surveying the extent of the damage.

The buildings were all crumbling and old, whatever of them was standing was just rotting wooden beams and some bricks waiting to fall. I wondered if it was like this in every town, and shuddered at the thought. Another quick thought came to my head: What happened to the soldiers who had helped us retreat? To Lowe and Amelia, Noah and Speka, even that Edan man. I wondered if they were dead, or just imprisoned somewhere, and maybe I would get them to help me.

I made a mad dash for the palace entrance, thinking how handy it would be to have Aisha's teleportation abilities. Luckily, no one stopped me, so I did a quick once over from the outside. I channeled my energy and focused, summoning a wind spirit to aid my search. It floated inside, causing little disturbance, and turned right, down a long hallway. There was a kitchen at the end, where a few maids were talking.

"I'm sick and tired of her bossing me around!" one exclaimed.

"I feel you! But we can't kill her..." another retaliated.

"We could give her poison." The first replied.

"You saw how that turned out for Tamia..." said a third girl.

"True... What about..." the second started, before sighing.

"About what?" the third and first girls asked in perfect unison, leaning in a little closer.

"No, nothing, nevermind." the second girl sighed again, waving her hand and turning away.

"Come on, tell us." the third girl pleaded, clasping her hands together.

"Well, I was thinking... Wasn't there someone she imprisoned... With Banthus' help way back when?" the second girl started. She looked worried, they way her eyes shifted.

"Wait, you're talking about that hot-headed brat with the burnt eye..." the first girl gasped slightly.

"Yes, him. She did say he gave her trouble." the second girl explained.

"But I heard... I heard that he had gone insane." the third girl said quietly. Silence fell over them for a long while, giving my spirit a chance to quickly check the door. Just a supply closet with some cleaning supplies.

"... But he could be our only hope, if we break him out." the second girl finally said. "It would be tough, but I bet we could do it."

The first girl sighed. "True, but when I say insane, I mean insane. Like more mad than a Hatter. I heard that he had stopped acting like a human long ago, and was practically an animal now."

I left the conversation at that point. This hot-headed brat that had given Chloe trouble... If I remembered correctly, Elsword and Aisha had fought her while Raven and Chung went to Hamel near the beginning of this war, a couple months before I had abandoned everyone to save what few humans remained. I had done that four years ago, but I had lost contact with everyone, so I didn't know what was going on.

Maybe during that time, Chloe had imprisoned Elsword, but where did that burn come from...? If it happened while I was gone or he was battling, I wouldn't know, I had to see this "hot-head" for myself.

The spirit took a large arc over the main room of the palace, where I could see Chloe sitting on a lavishly decorated throne. It was covered in quilts and pillows, and she had multiple demons, elves, and Nasods by her sides, weapons and food in their hands. I wrinkled my nose, disgusted at her. She had become such a pig, I was surprised she wasn't fatter.

The spirit snapped my attention back as it entered the left hallway. There was another long hall that seemed to spread out like a maze, but the spirit seemed to know exactly which way to float. It informed me that the way it took was the safer, but longer route, and went more than three stories down, so I'd have to be careful.

As it entered the jailhouse, a voice came from behind it.

"Yes, we're moving his cell again. Tomorrow. Just like we planned." Chloe explained calmly. She had draped herself in a large cape that dragged along the floor, and she was using it like a cloak.

"Will he attack us?" one of the glitters at her side asked.

Chloe smirked, staring down my spirit with a glare. "We haven't had him fight in so long, I wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't even summon his sword. Isn't that right, Rena?"

She grabbed the glitter's spear and chucked it at the spirit, and it cut it's connection and disappeared just before it got hit. The force of it leaving in such a rushed state slammed me against the wall, where I hit my head and blacked out for a few seconds.

I came to, and when I looked up, there was the face of one of the maids I had heard. "Miss, are you alright?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine. Thank you." I said. "I need to know where I can get into the palace and the jailhouse, so I can break my friend out and save my world and-"

She placed a finger to my lips and giggled, shushing me. "Here, how many fingers am I holding up?"

She wiggled her hand around, and I couldn't tell how many. "Um... Five.. Three... No, one and a thumb!"

She giggled again. "Here, come with me. There's a back entrance through the sewer, I'll take you there."

She pulled me along to a grate in the floor, and nocked on it three times. Someone from below pushed it open, and we quickly stepped in, closing the grate. We followed the person who opened the grate, leading us down a level and then to a room behind the castle. "Here, this will take you right to where you need to go. Avoid the light, and watch your back. He's in a single cell with no one around him, but be careful, he'll draw attention with his yelling."

I nodded. "Thank you, so much. When all this is over, I'll come back for you." I promised. They nodded back at me, and I turned on my heel, leaving them.

I quietly padded through the jailhouse, avoiding the lights as best I could. Chloe had seemed to have secluded this "hot-head" from the rest of the other inmates, and if I was right about this all, that "hot-head" was Elsword. It had been years since I had last seen him, or Raven, or Aisha, or anyone to be exact, so catching up on what I missed was going to be a hell of a time.

As I neared his cell, my breath caught in my throat. This person, no, this animal, wasn't Elsword. His aura was completely different, and the smell of iron and salt covered him. And as I got closer, till I was sitting right by the door, I could hear quiet chuckles and talking.

"Oh, 'course not... I wasn' goin' hard on her at all. 'Ve been stuck here since I attacked, 's not like- What? Oh, yeah, 'm only good at running..." Whoever it was chuckled, before yelling, "AND I CAN SENSE YOU OUT THERE, YEAH?"

I gasped and flinched backwards, slamming into the wall as the person rushed to the door. He barreled into it with his shoulder, pressing the side of his face to the bars so he could see me. He had messy red hair that hung down his back in a long ponytail. One side and the ends of the tail were black, either with dye or ash, I couldn't tell. I couldn't see half of his face, his bangs were so long, and his other eye was a deep, vibrant red that seemed like it was on fire.

He grinned. "Rena, izzat you?"

"E-Elsword..?" I asked him, stepping closer to the cell doors. He backed off from the bars, but left his bound hands on them. I could fully see him now, his hands were bound together, most likely to prohibit escape, and for some reason, he was shirtless, but I could see that he was skinny, like he hadn't been eating, and he had a burn mark streaking from the edge of his jaw, down his neck, over his shoulder and to his stomach. "What... What happened to you?"

"Ey, nothin' much, jus' a little jail time, good for the soul, yeah?" He said, still grinning. "What're you doin' here?"

"No, your shoulder. What's with the burn?" I asked again. He blinked a few times. "Burn...? Oh, this, yeah? No, nothin', s'always been there. So you're here cuz...?"

"... Breaking you out. I'm rounding up everyone because I need their help. Will you come with me?" I asked him. His grin dropped, and he glared at me.

"Get out, Rena."

"What?"

"I said, Get Out. I'm not helpin' you, you're on your own." He replied, a shadow casting over his face.

"What? Elsword, but why? Please, I need your swordsmanship, I need your instincts." I pleaded, grabbing the bars. He backed off, leaning on the wall of the cell. "Forget it. Said no, still sayin' no. It's not my problem."

"Elsword, please..." I begged. "I'm begging you, I can't do this without you..."

"Rena!" He shouted, kicking the cell door. "No means no! I'm not goin'!"

"Why not?" I screamed back, both of us grabbing the bars and slamming into the door. "I'm not who I used ta' be, I can't help ya'!"

"Yes, you can!" I yelled again, but he grabbed my neck and pulled me closer through the bars. "No, I can't. Listen to me, I can't summon Cornwell anymore, let alone use a sword, and I've practically lost my mind in this cell. I'm more of an insane animal than a human, do you really want someone like me helping you?"

I backed up, gritting my teeth. "They were right, you really are useless now, only good at running. What happened to you, Elsword?"

There was clanging and yelling from down the hall, and I pulled Erendil from its sheath and slashed the lock, the door cracking open slightly. "I hope that when they come for you, they drag you out and beat you to death like a mangy dog."

He merely chuckled. "I'll sic'em on you if you're not careful... Watch that back of yours, you might get shot again, yeah?"

I took off running, turning the corner just as the Glitters stormed the hallway. I heard Elsword laughing loudly, screaming, "That's right, run Rena! Cuz you're only good at that too!" before I turned another corner and found a window to exit from. Jumping on some boxes, I kicked the glass and crawled through, gritting my teeth as I earned a few cuts to my legs, arms, and back.

I cursed. I knew they would follow me if they caught the scent of my blood, I had to find Raven and Aisha, and I had to find them_ fast_


	3. Chapter 2

I stumbled through the undergrowth and mess of dying tees. I was clutching my arm with one hand and trying to bandage the other hand with my teeth. While running from the demons, I had accidentally tripped into the mote and was carried off to the outskirts of the city where a gang of Dark Elves found me. The first thing they did when I came too and stopped coughing was make a stab for my heart. I rolled to my left, earning the gash on my upper arm.

After a quick fight with them, I backed off, set a few traps, and then ran. I didn't have time to deal with them. My scent had been washed off from my little swim, but who knew how long it would have been before they picked up the scent of blood from their blades.

I ran into the forest, deliberately avoiding the Portal. Taking the longer route, I grit my teeth as I ran, ignoring the sting the wind and leaves gave my open cuts as I ran. Erendil was still in it's sheath, but my bow was starting to splinter from how I was using it to block attacks from the Elves, I couldn't use it much longer.

As I neared the edge of the forest, I tripped over a conveniently placed, sharp rock. As I hit the ground and tumbled down the small cliff, I heard a snap and a twang.

I groaned at the bottom, slowly opening my eyes to stare at my blood-covered hand and then past it...

I jolted up, gripping my bow. It had completely snapped in half, the string flying off in some random direction. Sadness overwhelmed me. I couldn't fight with just Erendil, I depended on that bow for everything, it was like a child's doll to me. I had even crafted and designed it myself...

There was a rustle behind me and I gasped, pressing myself to the floor. My brown jeans camouflaged with the ground, and the green of my jacket matched the over grown grass, so it was easy to avoid seeing me. There was another, much louder rustle, and some muddled voices. A man and a woman, no doubt the Elves that had been chasing me. I stayed flat to the ground till I was sure they were gone, and then pushed myself to my feet and ran in the opposite direction.

I kept running, before stumbling through the undergrowth and out into the open air. My feet were moving before I could stop them and I was jumping. My stomach dropped as I felt myself start to fall, opening my mouth to scream, when a hand caught my waist and hoisted me backwards.

"Watch where you run, you could fall straight off the cliff."

I didn't look at the man who saved me, I only stared over the edge as whatever was left of my bow tumbled to the bottom. I was so tempted to jump to go get it...

"Come on, it looks like you need some help. Come with me, I'll get you some food and some treatment for those gashes." He pulled me to my feet and I finally turned to look at him.

I gasped. It was Raven. He still looked the same, calm orange eyes, shaggy bangs and long hair... His arm had changed though, and he no longer had the headband on, plus there were more scars in addition to the two he already had. I couldn't see much of what he was wearing, just jeans tucked into the boots he had when he was a Weapon Taker, and a black jacket over a dark grey shirt, with three belts hanging around his waist. He had a cloak on, fastened over his shoulder in a way that it created a hood for him.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Raven, it's you!"

I tackled him, pulling him into a tight hug and crying into his chest. "I missed you, I missed you so much, I'm so sorry I left... What happened? Is everyone alright? What about Chung? And Aisha, and Eve? Are you doing okay? Raven?"

He pushed me away, wiping the tears from my face. "So it was you, Rena... I'll explain everything after we treat the gashes and get you patched up."

"... O-okay." I sniffled, and followed him. Something was off, and it wasn't just how Raven was acting. He seemed nervous, almost like there was something he was hiding and didn't want me to know about. His movements were all tense, his voice was rigid and harsh, though soft. I was worried, it had been four years since I had last seen him, could he have...?

I shook my head and continued following him back through the forest. As we jogged along, I realized how little sound he made compared to me. He was silent, like he was floating along the ground, and he was so light on his feet, not even the grass crunched under him. I, on the other hand, was like an elephant, and with the way I was crushing leaves and snapping twigs, I could probably have been heard miles away.

Finally, he stopped me in front of a small cottage. It was made of boulders and dead, thin, stickily trees, with moss, grass, and flowers growing over and around it. It didn't look very warm or dry, but it looked very homey and happy, and made me feel warm inside.

Just then, a purple-haired girl ran out of it. Her wavy hair was in two short pigtails, and she had an eye patch over one eye. She wore a dark pink skirt with a dirty white jacket over it, and a cloak similar to Raven's around her shoulders that was buckled with a clock-shaped clasp. Her dark purple socks were thigh-high and tied around her thighs with mismatched red and yellow ribbons and rope and string, her white boots tied together in a relatively similar fashion. I gasped in realization as she started running towards us, and I pulled away from Raven to run to her.

"Aisha!" I practically cried into her shoulder after catching and spinning her around. She laughed loudly and hugged me back, but I could feel the tears running down her cheeks. "Rena, it's so great to see you again. What happened? Where did you go and- Your eye!"

"Oh, this... There's nothing wrong with it, I was just blinded temporarily. It healed fine and I can see again, but the color was drained so it stayed white. What about you?" I asked. Her smile dropped and she turned away, whispering, "It's... Touchy... But it was Banthus... Shortly after you left, he burned Elsword and took my eye, and then... Eve, she..."

"God, I'm sorry... I should never have left..." I said, staring at the ground and clenching my fist. "But what happened to Eve? Is she here?"

"No, she... I don't remember. I blacked out after I lost my eye and when I woke up, both Elsword and Eve were gone. On the bright side, I found a moonstone and have since then been improving my close range combat. And me and Raven..." Aisha explained, before stopping and staring at him. I stared between the two and it clicked in my head why he had been so distant with me. I felt my smile dropping.

"I'm sorry, Rena, but you left, so I waited and waited for you, but you never came back... Four years is a long time, and though I'm still broken, Aisha helped me move through it." Raven explained, a bit sadly. I nodded, wiping my eyes. "No, I understand. I would have been surprised if you did wait for me. It's better this way."

Aisha smiled and hugged me again. "I can always trust you to be understanding."

"Yes, you can, but I'm gonna tell you both one thing. If either of you breaks the other's heart, I'll kill you." I said with a smirk. We all laughed together, before I was ushered inside and Aisha treated my wounds. Though I was a bit broken up about Raven, I could get over it quickly, because we had both moved on.


	4. Chapter 3

"Jeez, you guys walk so quietly..." I remarked, taking another cautious few steps. I cringed as a twig snapped under me, and then continued walking.

"Years of practice. Actually, you walk allot more quietly than some of the other things that come here. I think you'll get it faster than most of us." Raven remarked. He was carrying his cloak and jacket over his shoulder, revealing fingerless gloves, a dark-grey sleeveless turtleneck shirt, and three swords hanging off his belts. Aisha was carrying her jacket and cloak in a similar fashion, but they were hanging off a simple pink and purple staff with wings floating around the tip. Her skirt was actually a dress, the top cut in the same way as Raven's shirt. She also had gloves, but they were more like sleeves.

"Why are you guys carrying your cloaks and jackets?" I asked again. "I mean, wouldn't it be easier to wear them?"

"It would, but if we got attacked, we wouldn't be able to move as quickly." Aisha explained. "I was going to tell you to take your jacket off too, when I realized that it was loose and you moved just fine in it."

"Oh. Well, I guess I do." I replied. "So where are we going?"

"We can't stay in one place for too long, so we're moving to somewhere near Feita. It's one of the less occupied places, along with Ruben." Aisha explained. "You sure do ask allot of questions. You haven't changed a bit!"

We both laughed. "Yeah, I guess I haven't, but neither have you!"

We laughed again, and I snorted, causing more laughter to ensue. For such a serious time, it felt nice and relaxing to laugh."Well, anyway, time for a question of my own. Why did you come back now of all times?"

"Well, I was sent by the Elder of my village to collect some seals back in this world. We're closing the portal to protect the last of the remaining humans and Elves." I explained. "I came to ask for your help. You could even come back and live with us if you wanted to."

"... Sure." Aisha said with very little thought. "I'll help you."

Raven nodded in agreement. "So will I. I'll stay with the village after we collect the seals as well."

I smiled broadly. "Thank you, so much. So I have one more question. Why is Elsword in-"

I was cut off as a round of explosives rained from the sky. I ducked and tumbled out of the way, before catching Aisha around the waist and pushing her out of the way of another two shots. Another came flying at us, but she teleported both of us out of the way with a large flash. We crashed into a tree, falling to the floor, and I sat up with a cough.

"Wh-what was that?" I asked. Aisha shrugged, placing her clothing on the floor. "Slamming into the tree, or the explosions? Cuz I can only explain one."

"Either would be nice." I replied as Raven ran over. "I can explain the gun fire. There's a few demons and Elves-"

"Dark Elves." I corrected.

"Yes, Dark Elves, sorry. But anyway, there's a group of them trailing us and they seem to have caught up. Also, I think we might have trespassed into someone else's territory."

"Well, that's... Interesting. Who's?" I asked. He shook his head, and I nodded. "Anyway, Aisha, what about you?"

"I can't teleport two people very accurately. I mean, I can do it on my own, but with two people, there's a high chance I'll hit something." Aisha explained, rubbing her head. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, what about you?" I asked. She nodded. "Yeah, peachy like I should be. We should get back in and fight. I'll catch them from behind if you two can polish them off from the front."

Raven and I nodded, and she teleported away from us. A few seconds later, enraged screams and roars could be heard as a large, purple Super Nova could be seen, and then a small group of Dark Elves and demons rushed through the undergrowth. They were enraged and confused, never a good combination. I pulled Erendil from it's sheath and Raven drew one of his blades, both of us charging into the fray with determined cries. We went from opposite angles, creating more confusion amongst the group and cutting them down quickly. As Aisha polished off the last of them and we regrouped, I turned around and scanned the area, my guard still up.

"What's wrong, Rena?" Aisha asked, surveying the area as well. "That was too easy. I think they brought someone with them, and that group wasn't all."

Raven nodded, also turning and glancing around. He sniffed the air, before gasping and glancing back to where the group had come from. "Ladies, duck!"

We did as he was told as a dragon flew over out heads. It caught Raven's arm and flew into the sky with him, and I heard him choking as it's claws dug into his body. "Raven!"

Suddenly, something barreled into it from the side, sending the dragon and Raven crashing to the ground. A dust cloud erupted around them, and Aisha and I hurried to grab out things and run. When we got there, the dragon was dead and bleeding, a bullet wound in it's side, and there was a long skid mark where whatever had attacked it had skid along the floor. Raven was already limping towards the skid marks, only pausing to call us over.

"Are you okay?" we started fretting over him. He sighed with a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry. I think I know what saved me."

As we started walking along the tracks, I noticed that there was a more than familiar white cannon on the ground. Then, I saw torn-to-shreds dark blue cloth scraps, and immediately gasped in realization. "Rena? What is it?"

"I think it's Chung..." I replied. Raven nodded a bit hesitantly, saying, "So I was right..."

As we neared the end of the trail, a blond was lying in the dirt. He was covered in brown and red from the blood and mud around him. He was wearing all black, except for the white glove on hand and the white mask on his face. I ran to his side, pulling his mask of and staring. "Chung...?"

"Took you long enough." He grunted. "Here, help me up."

I blinked, but did as I was told, grasping his wrist and pulling him to his feet. "Jeez, what happened?"

"Eh, well, been around, you know. Lost some stuff, gained some stuff..." Chung replied calmly, shrugging. "My cloak is an example, but it was getting kind of ratty anyway. So, what are you doin-"

He suddenly stopped and glared past me at Raven, hissing under his breath. Raven had an equally hate-filled glare, and he was already reaching for one of his blades. "White Wolf."

"Black Crow."

The name exchange was venomous, I could practically taste all the loathing in the air. Chung was already advancing, ready to attack even without his cannon, and I knew I had to break it up quickly.

"So Chung, what happened to your eye?" I asked. His attention snapped away from Raven and he looked at me, shrugging. "I did it myself."

I cringed. "Why? That's just..."

"When my Guardian Stone shattered, I managed to save a bit of it. I needed a place to store it, so I kinda hid it in my eye socket, cuz there was no eye there... And then one day, I woke up, my eye was there again, and I had a Destroyer and a glove. Sadly, it only worked when my eye was closed, so I stitched it closed, and that was it." He explained. "My eye is all green now, and it's on the opposite side of Aisha, Elsword's, and yours, so ha."

"What's to laugh about? You're missing an eye now!" I yelped. He was almost as crazy as Elsword!

"Oh, no, loosing an eye is nothing to laugh about, but I don't match you guys and am thus, individual. So ha." He crossed his arms, smirking.

I smirked back. He still had his sense of humor, even if it was darker than expected, and he was still pretty much the same, minus his aggressive behavior. "So, why did you decide to come back now?"

"I was sent on a mission to close the portal. I need help to collect the seals, will you come?" I asked, silently praying that he would say yes and just be able to work with Raven.

"Depends, is he coming?" He asked, pointing a finger at Raven, who gave his finger a look like he was going to bite it off if it got any closer. Aisha sighed and smacked his head, earning a, "Hey...!"

"... Yes. He is." I said sternly. "Can you put up with him?"

Chung crossed his arms again, giving me a haughty look. "If it means I get one thing when this is all over, I'll help you."

"What do you want? I'll give you anything." I promised. Chung stared at Raven. "A death duel with him. I have some revenge that needs going about, so I'll just get it when it's all over."

I cringed, but nodded anyway. "You heard him, Raven. I know this probably won't go over well, but I really, really need the help, and I'm sorry...!"

* * *

This one... Was pretty rushed cuz it's almost four in the morning and I'm pretty tired :/ Expect an update sometime in the next few weeks, but like I said, I'm updating it by four chapters every time. Anyway, expect Eve, an almost execution, a few fights, and some insanity in the next four chapters, and enjoy :)

P.S. I'm doing this as the new classes come out, but chances are I'll be done by the time Tactical Trooper gets here :/ Oh, and the icon belongs to Murakami-Chan on Zerochan, but I ran out of space in the description to put that XD;;


	5. Chapter 4

Yeah, so turns out, I was pretty spot on with the ages. I was only off by a year for everyone but Raven (Since I based it off his age of thirty two). Also, I did this as the classes came out, so it'll get updated and changed along the way. Just know that Chung's hair is not tied in a pony tail, but is still really skinny. Like those typical badass pony tails some of those guys have, that are just kinda there, but aren't tied up or anything :/

* * *

"Damn it, I forgot how steep these cliffs are..." I panted, pausing at the top where Chung was waiting. I turned to help Aisha up, and then Raven followed her shortly after.

"We have more pressing issues at the moment. Like why the hell did you gamble away my life like that?! I never agreed...!" Raven snapped angrily. I stared at the ground. "I-I'm sorry, I just... Needed the help... Desperately..."

"... There's more than that. I know you wouldn't just gamble away your friend's life to get help. There's another reason." He deducted. I mouthed a curse, he was too damn sharp for his own good. I couldn't tell him my second reason for coming back, nor could I tell him the true reason I hadn't returned till now. He couldn't know. He couldn't know about the deal, or the battle, or even the imprisonment.

I looked back up at him and turned, staring over my shoulder as I walked. "Well, maybe I have changed a little. I have full confidence you won't kill him."

As I was walking off, he caught my arm. "I won't kill him, but he won't hesitate to kill me."

"Why is that? Did you do something stupid, or is this a misplaced grudge...?" I asked, feeling my face contort in curiosity. He was silent, releasing my arm, before finally saying, "You should just ask him."

"... Fine. I will. When I catch up to him." I sighed. He smirked and let me go, starting to walk with me again. "I see you've gotten lazier, what happened?"

"I carry a sword now, dammit, you see this? I'm only used to carrying a tiny little knife up these cliffs." I wailed. He chuckled at me, but we continued walking anyway. "Lucky you the trip is down hill from here!" Aisha called back with a laugh. I was sure she could see my thankful face.

The trip down was much easier than the trip up, but the grass was slippery and wet from morning dew. This resulted in us getting our shoes wet, Chung almost breaking his ankle, and Aisha rolling down the hill like a gleeful little child. It was adorable, really.

Anyway, we finally reached the bottom, gleeful and happy and forgetting every thing around us. I was so tempted to just abandon my mission and live with these guys for the rest of my life. My smile dropped as I thought about this. If I just left, then we'd be the only remaining humans and I'd be the last Elf on the Elrios continent. I didn't want that to happen, it would be lonely, even if I was with all my friends...

"Hey, Rena?" Chung asked, kneeling in front of me. "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, just thinking." I replied, smiling sheepishly. He gave me a curious look, but stood up and dragged me with him anyway. "Well, that's okay then, I guess. We should keep moving, we'll be at Feita by tonight."

"Right. Let's keep-" I was interrupted by a rustle in the bushes. All of us snapped our attentions to the source of the sound, where the leaves rustled again. Raven and I both put our hands on the hilts of our blades, Aisha getting ready to smack whatever came from those bushes. The air was tense as we waited, I could feel my muscles tensing and clenching under my skin in nervousness. We didn't take our eyes off the bushes, until there was another sound from farther down, and then-

There was a white ray of pure energy, and then a white haired girl burst from the under growth. She looked thoroughly confused to everything around her, as well as pretty scared and frantic. She only paused to glance and us, before rushing over and tackling Chung, holding him and sobbing into his chest. He slowly wrapped an arm around her upper back, still recovering from the shock of some random girl bursting from the bushes and then tackling him.

"E-Eve, what are you doing back here?" He asked quietly.

Okay, turns out she wasn't random.

He pushed her away and put a hand on her head, pushing her head back so she looked at his face. He stared into her eyes and she sniffled back a few times, before nodding quietly. I watched their interaction, noting mentally what was off: Eve was jittery, not calm and still like she usually was. She twitched every so often, and her eyes were dull and dark, as if she had powered down. There was no data being transfered, and her drones weren't floating with her.

"Aisha, what happened? Is Eve alright?" I whispered to her, but she shook her head. "I'm not sure, this is the first time I've seen her in a few years."

I stayed silent, leaving many questions unspoken.

"Guys, I'm heading back to Velder." Chung suddenly said. I stared at him with wide eyes, exclaiming, "What? Why? I still need your help-"

"Saving everyone can wait a few days, Elsword's execution is tomorrow, and I'm going to help Eve save him. You can't stop me, I'll meet up with you in Feita tomorrow night." He explained, turning on his heel and starting to walk off. Before he could get very far, I grabbed his wrist, saying, "Wait."

He turned his blue eye on me, and in the dim light, I could see how faded and tired it really was. "I'm coming with you."

Aisha stepped up next to me, resting her staff next to his foot. "I'm coming too. I don't care what you say, you couldn't stop me if you tried."

"Same applies to me." I nodded, letting his arm go. He blinked, and sighed. "Eh, well, more the merrier, I guess, but don't hold me accountable for any injuries or deaths."

We arrived late the next day, and for a few seconds, we feared it was too late. Thankfully, it wasn't, they were just starting, and this caused a collective sigh of relief. "What's our plan?"

"Aisha and Eve should distract them from the back of the crowd, while you and Raven polish them off from the inside. Here." Chung handed me his cloak as he explained, and then said, "You and Raven need to wear your cloaks and a mask or something to hide your true appearance. Wait for my signal, which will be three shells to the sky, and then whip out your swords and slash everything to bits, got it?"

"Rght." I replied.

Raven huffed. "Why am I here, again? Rena can take them on her own just fine, I don't need to be here."

"Then go wait for us in Feita. We'll go there when we've saved Elsword." I said. He crossed his arms and I swear to god, started pouting a little. "... Tch, whatever. Fine, I'll stick around, but don't think I'm gonna take orders from this little blondie."

"Hey, Crow, in case you haven't noticed, I'm almost as tall as you!" Chung retaliated. Raven scoffed, "Like I care."

"Ladies!" Aisha said, placing hands on their chests. "Remember what we came here for, you can't start fighting now."

"She's right. Raven and I are gonna head in now, I expect a signal fairly soon." I instructed, grabbing Raven's arm and leading him off to the crowd.

As we got there, we pushed and shoved our way through to the middle, casting glares and threatening growls to anything that looked. A few of the Dark Elves recognized me, making a, "dead meat," motion with their hands. Some of the glitters also smelled our blood, but didn't make a real big stink about it. We were pretty safe, and could stand and watch until Chung gave the word.

"Welcome, all you filthy rats!" I heard Chloe sneer from the stage. She held a chain, and attached to that chain was a shackled Elsword, who was smirking lopsidedly. "Tonight, we celebrate a great victory: We've breached the walls to the Elven lands!"

I could hear myself gasping as the crowd erupted in cheers, woots, and whistles, making me cover my ears instead of my mouth. They had already found and gone through the portal? How could she have found it so soon? I was running out of time... Chloe continued, staring right at me, "And what better way to celebrate than with an execution?!"

The crowd cheered loudly again, blowing fire and throwing bits of cloth and paper into the air. It made me want to whip out my sword right there and cut her clean in half, or at least skewer her. "Now, commence the execution. This brat has been a thorn in our side for ages, let's finally get rid of him tonight!"

As she was lowering his neck onto the block, he smirked. "Perhaps you could grant me one request?"

"Hm... How about no? Del!" Chloe called, and a man I didn't recognize in all black stepped from the side of the stage. He had an axe over his shoulder, and he was whistling happily. As he raised the axe high over his head and the crowd was chanting, "death, death, death" in unison, a shell came out of nowhere and shot him in the back. It was followed by two more, and then Chung emerged from the same edge of the stage the man had come from, standing over his bleeding corpse. "Sorry, Chloe, but there's been a change of plans."

Raven and I took that as our cues, ripping our cloaks off and drawing our blades. I threw my cloak to my right and then charged at the crowd, cutting down anything and everything unlucky enough to be close to me. With a furious cry, I slashed a large X-shaped mark on two of the glitters, and then stabbed Erendil forward, skewering a Dark Elf. Suddenly, Aisha was next to me, spirals of pure energy rippling off her staff in a screw-like motion. "Rena, change of plans. You and me are gonna grab Elsword and run. Raven, go get Eve, regroup in Feita. Come on!"

I nodded and followed her, briefly watching Raven cut and blast his way through the crowd till he was gone. Aisha and I cut through the crowd that was dissipating into globs and chunks in panic. As we got to the stage, I noticed Chung and Chloe locked in an intense battle of blades versus grenades, Chung being pushed to defensive. "Elsword!"

"Jeez, Rena, didn' think you'd'uv brought _friends_." Elsword mumbled, standing up and shaking his shoulders out. He wasn't out of the shackles, so I quickly cut them off his body. "Come on, you can interrogate and hate on me later, we need to get out of here."

"I think I might be able to teleport us a little ways away. We're to regroup in Feita, grab on to me." Aisha commanded, he hair messy and her jacket missing. One of the wings on her staff was gone, and the other was covered in the dark-red blood of the Dark Elves. I grabbed Elsword's arm and then her waist and she held us both, whispering a spell quickly. Light enveloped us and we levitated off the floor, catching the attention of a lancer. He grinned, and then chucked his lance, and I only heard a sharp intake of breath before crash-landing in some random field in a pile of red hair and clothing.


	6. Chapter 5

"Aisha!" I screamed, pulling away from my spot next to Elsword and staggering over, staring at the lance lodged in her side. She coughed, blood running down her chin and neck, dripping onto her hair. "I-I'm f-fine."

"No, no you're not, I need to stop the bleeding..." I started, looking around for something, anything, to help her. As I started taking off my jacket, she slowly sat up. "No, Aisha, wait, you can't-"

"Rena, when I tell you to, pull the lance out. I'm gonna seer the wound closed." She commanded as I held her up. I shook my head, but she hissed, "We don't have time to wait for the blood to clot on it's own, that will take way too long. We need to get to Feita now, just pull the lance out."

"... Okay." I set her back on the floor and then grabbed the handle, waiting for her okay. She placed her hand next to the wound, heat rippling off it in waves, and then nodded twice. I yanked on the lance, jerking it out of her side as she slammed her hand on her stomach. She screamed and writhed for a few seconds, and then settled, panting wildly.

"That's not gonna hold long, someone's gonna hafta carry me-" She paused to cough, more blood splattering. "I don't want to die..."

"You won't, I promise you, you wont." I vowed, taking her hand. It was already cooling rapidly, and she obviously couldn't hold her staff. "Elsword, carry her staff, we're going to Feita."

"Y'know, I didn' ask'ta be broken out." He said, crossing his arms and cantering his hip in a sassy manner. I threw the staff at him, pulling my jacket all the way off as he fumbled to catch it. "I didn't say you could hate yet. Let's move!"

Slowly, to avoid opening her wound, I pulled Aisha onto my back and held her thighs, tying her arms together with the jacket sleeves. I know, it sounds odd, but I feared she might pass out or not be able to hold on, and I didn't want to drop her. "Are you alright?"

"There's a hilt digging into my thigh, but other than that, I'm fine." She whispered quietly. I could hear her smile though.

"Do you want me to move you?" I asked, starting to walk. Elsword trailed along behind us, stumbling every now and then at how free his feet were. He draped the staff over his shoulders and held it loosely with both hands, shivering every so often as we walked. I should have given him my vest, stupid jail keepers, letting him walk around shirtless like that...

"No, it'll move as we walk." She replied. her breathing was ragged, heavy, and I knew she should stop talking.

We walked till the early light of dawn was rising around us, and as we came up over the hill, I looked down and saw Feita. It wasn't as damaged as Velder was, but there was no one there except for one house on the outskirts that had a black plume of smoke rising from it. "That's gotta be them."

"I think it's only Raven and Chung, I can't sense Eve." Aisha whispered. We started down the cliff, and while Elsword was sliding and rolling down it, I took my time to trot down and not slip, for Aisha's sake. We reached the bottom, and I glanced at the bushes to see if Eve would burst out of them, just like last time. She didn't, and I got a little worried she was captured. "I think we'll make it by midday so we can treat you."

Aisha breathed a sigh of relief and snuggled into my shoulder. "Thank god."

We reached the house at around noon, where Raven came out to greet us. "What happened?"

"Lancer." I replied. "She needs treatment, now."

"Got it." He said sternly, pulling Aisha from my back and carrying her inside. I ushered Elsword over and he just looked away like he didn't hear me. I sighed exasperatedly, and then tromped over, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside. "Raven, can we treat her?"

"Yeah, but she won't be able to move for a few weeks." He said quietly. He was holding her hand and wiping sweat from her brow, and she was panting and gasping for breath.

"It's better than not at all. Let's get right to it." I stated.

"Wait, what about Eve? Did you see her?" He asked quickly. I shook my head sadly, staring at the ground. "I was hoping she had been with you..."

Suddenly, Elsword jumped to my side, gripping my shoulder and arm. "Eve was here? Is she alright? What happened to her, has she improved at all?"

"She's fine, thank you for your concern. Now, if you don't mind helping Aisha please?" Raven snapped, glaring at Elsword, who had decided he suddenly wasn't interested.

"Elsword, if you're gonna pout like a kid, go and find Chung and get some clothes before you freeze to death." I told him. He shrugged and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"When did he get so moody?" I asked. Raven shrugged, wandering to the door and slowly opening it. "Probably in jail. I'm going to get some medical supplies to stitch her up, make sure she doesn't get any worse please?"

"... Alright. Come back soon." I stated, and then he left. I pulled my blood-stained jacket away from Aisha's weak fingers and then ditched Erendil by the door, before moving back and sitting next to her. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow, but she had a death grip on my hand when I took hold of hers.

"R-Raven...?" She squeaked quietly, her voice fear filled and sad. "Shh, shh... He's gone to get some medical supplies, he'll be back soon." I soothed, still holding her hand. Her grip loosened, but she still held it, waving it back and forth slightly.

"Am I gonna be okay?" She asked again, tears in her eyes. I could tell it was painful for her to talk, even breathing must have hurt, the way she gasped every so often.

"I... Yes, you'll be fine. Just don't talk, alright? Get some rest, Raven will be back for you soon." I told her with a soft smile. She gave me a tear filled gaze, the sighed and closed her eyes, drifting to sleep.

A few minutes later, Raven came back with the supplies. "How is she?"

"She just went to sleep. Should I leave you two alone?" I asked. He gave me a slight nod, walking over the the side of the bed and putting the supplies down. "Thank you, Rena. I'll call you if I need you, is that alright?"

"Sure. But I..." I bit my lip and glanced away from him, getting up so he could sit. "I couldn't protect her, it's my fault she got hurt. I don't deserve thanks at all..."

"But you protected her with your life while getting her back here, and you helped keep her alive. That's enough, Rena. Thank you." He explained, smiling softly. "I'm going to start treatment, so I'm going to ask you to leave now."

"Alright. I'm gonna go find Elsword then, catch him up, maybe look for Eve." With that, I left the room and closed the door quietly.

I padded down the dark hallway. The only lights were the ones from the windows in the other rooms, that shined through the doors that had been busted off their hinges. It was a sad place, I didn't know Feita had been built up like this, only to be broken down. From what I had heard, the demons had come to Feita first and built it up as a camp ground. It had become more and more industrialized over time, and eventually became a slave camp for prisoners during the middle of the war... I guess this had all happened before I had left.

I wandered into one of the rooms with a door still on it and looked around sadly. There was a dresser with a shattered mirror hanging over it, and a small bed on the opposite wall. The dresser's drawers had all been yanked out, two of the three thrown haphazardly around the room. Part of the roof over the door was falling in and there were water stains on the floor beneath my feet. I stepped over to the bed, staring at what little was on it: A rotting pillow, a tattered blanket, a little bit of blood on the sheet, and a doll. This must have been a girl's bed-

A note under the doll caught my eye. The paper was yellow and fading, some of the corners gnawed away by moths and mice. I carefully picked it up and read what it said, gasping quietly.

_I guess if you've found this note, I'm long gone..._

_But it's okay, I can still say what I want to._

_I was thirteen when I died, my brother was seven. __**He's dead.**_

_I like ice cream and the scent of candles, and my mom's home-made rotisserie. _

_She doesn't get to make it anymore. __**She's dead.**_

_We were locked away in this camp for four years, almost half of the war. _

_But we made it through some how. _

_Our neighbors are really nice, and I like the girl who lives down the street, we play all the time. __**She's dead.**_

_But tonight, we're leaving. I'm leaving._

_They're going to take us away and kill us, I know it. If they don't we'll become slaves. _

_Slaves to the bitch that captured us._

_Slaves to the fuckers that killed my brother._

_Slaves to the sinners and hellspawn that destroyed my future._

_Slaves._

_**Slaves.**_

_**Slaves.**_

_**slaveslaveslaveslaveslavesad fjs;sdfjid,...**_

The ending of the note was filled with more dots and other random letters, and I stopped reading. Wherever it was written that someone was dead, it was scribbled, covering some of the other letters. So were all the slaves at the bottom, and the random letters. I put it back under the doll and turned around to exit, but stopped mid-step with a gasp. There was a little girl by the door, with pale skin and brown-grey hair. She was in a white dress and had pure black eyes. _You found my note._

"Who are you?" I asked her. She didn't move, but gave me a soft smile.

_I am the spirit who wrote that note. I actually died at fourteen, but was a slave nonetheless. _

"Wait, I know your voice... You were the one in my dream from a few days ago." I said, staring down at her. She smiled wider.

_I got you up and over here... It's only a matter of time until you become a slave too. Then maybe we can work together forever. You look like the girl who lived down the street, would you mind if I called you big sister? _

"I'm not going to become a slave. I'm going to kill Chloe, and save what's left of the human race. I'm not a slave." I said, repeating "I'm not a slave" to myself even after I closed my mouth.

_But you are a slave. No matter what you'll become a slave. It's only a matter of time because it's inevitable. You're going to become a slave. You're going to become a slave. A slave. A slave. Slave. Filthy, dirty, rotten little Elf girl, who abandoned everyone. Time will catch up to you because it always does. You're a rat and you know it, and you know what happens to rats. You're going to die, big sister. You're going to die, you stupid rat. You'll be a slave, and then you'll die like the disgusting, pitiful rat you are._

"No!" I screamed, grabbing a shard of glass from the mirror and hurling it at her. She laughed, and then disappeared, the glass hitting the wall and shattering even smaller, crashing to the floor. I stood there, staring at where she was for a while, hand dripping, before covering the sides of my face and falling to the floor on my knees. I sat for a while, sobbing, "No, no, no, I'm not a slave, I didn't abandon everyone. I didn't abandon them, so there's nothing bad that's going to happen to me. I'm not a rat, I'm not a slave, I'm not..."

Though I told myself these things, I knew very well that it was all true. I was a pathetic rat, and I did abandon everyone.

The girl was right.

Sooner or later

I'd

be

exterminated.

* * *

Shivers* (A quick note, I kinda scared myself writing that O_O)


	7. Chapter 6

The note I had found had really shaken me up, and I was trying to avoid thinking about it for as long as I could. I steered clear of the house for a good hour, waiting on Raven to call me back in for Aisha. In my down time, I went and talked to Chung, and learned a little bit about the Raven-Hamel incident and why they hated each other. I also learned that Chloe had waited on us to separate before claiming Velder, because she knew there would only be a few of us guarding it.

After that brief talk with Chung, a few moments of sitting, and more milling, I got up to look for Elsword. He had presumably wandered off somewhere, obviously not willing to help with anything, so finding him was probably going to be pretty hard.

Actually, it wasn't as hard as I thought.

I caught Elsword leaning on a wall, his hand hanging next to him, his back to me. He was wearing a red jacket with black flames up the sleeves. His abdomen was covered in wraps, over the jacket, and a few on his thighs and knees. He had on dark jeans and boots, but other than that, I couldn't see the front of him. He was staring off into the distance, or perhaps wasn't staring at all, I couldn't tell, and he was still, silent, and didn't look like he was breathing, and with how the wall blocked him from the wind, his body and hair weren't moving at all. I stepped closer, some gravel crackling under my feet, and his ear twitched slightly. I lightly trotted over to him, glancing at his back and shoulders. "Elsword?"

"Hm?"

"Oh, okay, you're not dead." I sighed, relieved. He was still insane, after all, but at least he wasn't suicidal or anything.

"'Course not. Just thinkin'."

"About what?" I asked. He shrugged one shoulder, still never turning to me. I had noticed that he was dropping letters, more than usual, and wondered if it was on purpose or he just hadn't spoken enough while imprisoned.

"Things. Aisha and Raven. What happ'nd there, ey? And then... Guess Eve..." He mumbled. I could barely hear the name he uttered, but I still knew who he was thinking about. "Els, I'm sorry.. I..."

I reached for his hand, but he quickly twitched, catching my wrist. In a flash, he had a foot on my toe and my own Erendil at my throat, pushing me back. He was staring at my eyes, half angry, half surprised, before pulling back and letting me go.

I stumbled back, pressing my fingers to the light slit on my throat. He handed the blade back and turned away after I timidly took it. With a hiss, he said, "Don't you _ever_ call me that name, _ever again_."

I followed his back with my eyes as he turned around the wall and left me in the dust.

After that incident, I decided I didn't want to go back to the camp. I took a seat on top of the wall and took a meditative stance, crossing my legs and resting my hands in my laps. I could hear the spirits and they twirled and gamboled around my body, toying with my hair and clothing. They giggled at me, and whispered little things at each other, most of the words in some foreign language I couldn't understand.

I sat there, long into the day, until the sun was setting over the trees of Feita and the spirits of the wind had been replaces with spirits of heat. They slid under my jacket and through my hair, resting in my shoes and causing such a powerful heat surge I had to take my shoes off. As I hopped off the wall and shook them off, I glanced over and gasped audibly. My shoes clattered to the ground as I sprinted over to Eve, tumbling down the hill, and then grabbing her pale shoulders as I stood up. "Eve! We were so worried about you, where did you go?!"

"I am fine, Rena, no need to be alarmed." Eve replied, but her voice was robotic, toneless, and quiet. She didn't even pronounce my name correctly, it was odd.

"Eve? You don't sound alright, what happe- WOAH!"

Elsword suddenly dashed past me out of no where, tackling Eve with a bear hug. He held her close, so she was standing on her toes. "Eve, god, I missed you so much. Are you alright? How have you been? Eve?"

She pushed him away, staring straight forward with half-lidded eyes. Something was off, this wasn't the Eve we knew, she had changed, possibly for the worse. Could this have been the effect of the event Aisha was talking about?

"I have terminated my emotions and memories, I do not need them any more." Her sentence was simple, but I could see Elsword's heart visibly shattering. He backed away from her, and stared, surprise and pain etched on his face. "Oh, I see, yeah... Don't blame you..."

We were all silent, standing in a triangle and staring at each other, when finally Eve said, "We should return now. I'm sure you are cold?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure." Elsword muttered quietly, turning and wandering off. I retrieved my shoes and started walking behind the two, only to notice that she was holding his hand and they were leaning against each other as they walked. I thought Eve had terminated her emotions, was she just acting on instinct? I didn't even evesdrop on their conversation, I heard a rustling in the bushes, and stayed on the look out for more Dark Elves or demons.

We made it back pretty slowly, and once we got there, Elsword left to the house, while Eve stayed outside. We wandered around to the front, meeting Chung along the way, and he informed us about the plan to head to get the first seal tomorrow. After that, we finished our walk to the front, where Raven was waiting with Aisha near the door of the house, a wild boar and some vegetables cooking on the spit over the fire. It smelled great, I could already taste it, even from this far away. Plus, she was up and about, she must have used some healing magic or pain meds, but she was shaking and still looked kind of pale. I waved as I passed, but she only gave me a slight incline of the head and a nod, she was still in pain.

"Where's Elsword?" Raven asked, turning the spit. Chung shrugged, and Eve said, "He returned to his room."

"Ah. Someone should go get him." He said, and I replied with, "You guys catch up a little, I'll go get him."

I slowly padded down the hallway to Elsword's room, or what was left of it in this decrepit grey house, if you could even call it that. The smell from the food wafted down the hallways and into the rooms, and it started making me wonder why Elsword wasn't rushing out to get some. As I was thinking about how he always used to rush outside to the kitchen whenever someone made food, I remembered that Elrios had changed, and Elsword was in jail for years. Maybe he just didn't ever want to eat anymore, or maybe he just wasn't hungry.

As I neared his room, I scoffed to myself._ Elsword would always want to eat something..._ I thought to myself, smiling. It wasn't like he'd just not eat, besides, wild boar definitely beat prison food-

A shriek cut through my thoughts, and I rushed to the door, calling, "Elsword!"

I saw him, curled in the corner next to the old, dusty bed. He was clutching his head and covering his ears, rocking back and forth, mumbling things to himself.

"I know, I know, it's not like I wanted to... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I said I was... No, no, you don't get it- No I said-"

He slammed his head against the wall and shrieked again, flopping onto his back. I rushed over to him, making a larger tear in my jeans as I skid on my knees to his side. "Elsword, are you alright?"

"Elsa, Elsa, Elsa- I'M SORRY!"

He lashed out, but I caught his hand and slammed it to the ground harder than I had meant to. His eye snapped wide open, and he quickly went to kick me in the face. I ducked out of the way of his leg, but he used both my weight and his to push us over. He pulled his arm back, ready to punch me in the face. I gave him a palm to the cheek and then slapped his face to my right, before shoving him over and pinning him on his back.

Elsword yelled something incoherent, writhing and squirming under me. "Elsword, calm down!"

He trashed around even harder, and I had to use my legs to keep him from kicking. "Elsword, it's just Rena. No one here is going to hurt you, Elsa's not here."

He calmed down, panting to catch his breath and staring up at me with one sad, tired, near-dead red eye. "I just want to give up."

"What?"

He stared up at me, blinking a few times. His eye was watery, he looked like he was about to just cry, and I could see the full extent of the burn, his hair pushed to the side from all his thrashing. "I don't want to do this any more."

"You aren't just insane, are you?" I asked. "It's more than that... You... You're apologizing, did you hurt someone?"

He nodded. "They trained me to fight... Forced me to kill. I'm not just and insane man, I'm an insane killer. In that prison, they bred me to fight and kill, to be ruthless and cold-hearted, more of an animal than human. Rena, you should 'ave left me for dead."

"But I don't care if you're some murderous mad-man. I need your help. I'm desperate at this point." I told him, backing off and letting him up. He sat up, taking a deep breath. "No, you don't need my help at all. I'll just be a burden. While you can learn to adapt and work with everyone again, I just get more angry and frustrated. That's all gonna come out someday, and when it does..."

"Elsword, stop making excuses. I know you have more control over yourself than that."

"Rena, damn it, I'm fucking insane! Self control has no spot in my personality anymore!" He snapped back. "The harder I fight, the longer I can go, so the less self control I have, it means that I'm just gonna go and kill somehthin'." He started lapsing back into his letter dropping. "'Sides, what do I even have to live for anymore? Jus' kill me here and now, yeah? So you don't run the risk of me freakin' on you guys."

"Why are you in such a hurry to die, Elsword?" I asked, sitting down next to him. I reached over to pat his shoulder, but he slapped my hand and moved away from me. "They forced me to kill my own sister."

I gasped. "You killed Elsa?"

"She was only the beginnin'. There were so many more people af'er her, before her, so many people, so much blood..." He grinned, still staring at the ground. "So much power I had over them, no one could stop me, I just kept devouring soul after soul, I was so powerful, it was like being drunk-!"

I smacked his head and then grabbed his shoulder. "Elsword! Calm down!"

"Wh- What? Oh, sorry. Just thinking about... Some time. Y'know... They just kept me fightin' and fightin' but then I decided I wouldn' kill one day." He laughed. "'At's when Queen Bitch d'cided I wasn't worth it and tried ta' feed me to the dogs, but then they kicked it too. I liked my privacy, and didn' mind the smell or the flies at all."

"... Elsword, let's get some food, you're starting to creep me out a little." I mumbled, standing and dragging him to his feet.

"Eh? Oh, yeah, sure. 'Sounds good."

As we exited the house, I started thinking about how much had changed, how different everyone was, and how the world around me had changed. It was frightening, and I knew that the truth would come out eventually


	8. Chapter 7

I laughed for the first time since I had gotten here that night.

We all were acting like children, even Eve cracked a smile, and it was so familiar to the old days, I was happy. Chung and Elsword were cracking jokes together, Aisha and I sang a few songs, and Raven told us stories of dragons and knights and forest demons and the victories of the war. After a long while, the fire died, and we all retired to the house, where Aisha and I were sleeping in the same room.

She closed her eyes, smiling happily as Raven tucked her in and kissed her forehead, it was so cute. He left and closed the door for us, leaving us alone in the dark room.

"So..." I started after a few seconds. Aisha nodded her head in my direction, asking, "Yes?"

"What's with Eve? She's been... Oddly somber and jittery, and now she's terminated her memories, what happened?" I asked. Aisha was silent, opening and closing her mouth a few times, before shaking her head and saying, "It's nothing, a personal choice on her part."

"But why would she terminate her memories of us? And the way she ran to Chung when we met back up... She seemed anxious. What's up?" I asked again. Aisha turned on her back and stared at the ceiling, shaking her head. Clearly, she wasn't going to talk, but I needed to know.

"Aisha, please, you have to tell me what happened to Eve." I begged her. She turned away from me, her teeth gritting together as she clutched her arm tightly. "I-I don't want to."

I couldn't argue with her. If she didn't want to tell me, then I couldn't force her to. "Alright then... Sorry for pestering you so much about it. I just wanted to help her, that's all. Good night."

"Wait, Rena." She muttered as I rolled over. I would have celebrated that I had gotten her to tell me if she didn't look so upset. She was chewing on her lower lip, kneading her fingers together and tangling her feet in the blankets. "I-I'll tell you, but you can't ever tell anyone else."

I crossed my heart with my finger. "I swear on my shooting hand."

"I'll cut it clean off if I find out you ever so much as even peeped a syllable to someone." Aisha threatened, worry still in her voice. I gulped and nodded, before walking closer. "So what happened to Eve? Does it have to do with you and Elsword's eye trend? How did she become a mute?"

"Banthus was the whole cause of what happened to Eve. She's mute and jittery because of what he did to her." Aisha started in a low whisper. "When we went to attack Chloe, we were outnumbered and cut down. They took my eye first, and left me for dead, but somehow, I survived. I almost wish I hadn't, the memories I have are painful..."

She covered her mouth, lurching forward slightly, eyes tearing up. "I can't imagine what Eve goes through."

"Please, Aisha, tell me more." I urged. She took a moment to calm down, before continuing. "Well, Banthus was hell bent on revenge, so he... Beat Elsword half to death, burned him, and then strung him up and forced him to watch..." Aisha choked again. "He- He r-ra-"

She sighed exasperatedly. "I can't even say it, and can't begin to fathom how bad Eve must feel. And Elsword. Banthus also littered Elsword's body with cuts and let him bleed out pretty badly, but the worst was how he just... Forced him to watch. They kept him awake with burns and cuts, forcing him to sit all the way through Eve getting rapped by someone we all loathed."

I gasped loudly, tearing up myself. How could he have- It was worse than cruel, Banthus was worse than a monster...! Aisha was right, Eve must have been in the worst conditions a Nasod could be in, her functions must have shut down from shock. And now I knew where Elsword's scar was from...

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked..." I mumbled. She shook her head, glancing at her pillow. "No, better now. It would have come out at a much worse time later, when nobody needed to hear it again. I'm sorry, but I'm going to sleep now. Good night, Rena."

I nodded as she turned over, and then turned over myself. I felt bad for asking, I shouldn't have pried into that, I shouldn't have asked...! I stayed awake for a long while, before slowly drifting into a light, fitful, nightmare-attacked sleep.

* * *

It felt like years before I woke up, jolting awake with a loud yell. I heard another yelp and then a crashing sound, before Raven turned and gave me a wide-eyed glare-ish look. "What the hell, Rena?!"

"S-sorry, I just- I just- I-" I tried to stammer out, before glancing at the ground and tearing up. "I- You guys just-"

His eyes softened and he walked over, sitting on the edge of my bed and resting his hand on my shoulder. "Rena, what's wrong?"

"I-I- In my dream- It was..." I couldn't even form words, attempting to remember the gore and blood I had dreamed about. Every thing was red, everyone was red, and I was standing at the top of a pile of corpses, broken Erendil in my hands. It was me, I had killed my friends, my family... And as I looked down, Chloe was there on he throne, smirking contently up at me, before saying, "Good Job."

And then I charged her too.

I broke down sobbing, holding my face in my hands. The ghost girl from last night, the dream, the reality of my situation, all of it, came crashing down on me, and I felt like my shoulders could just break from the weight of everything. Raven wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close as I sobbed into his chest, but the biting chill from his arm made it all the worse. "I don't want to do this anymore... I just want to go back to the village and live peacefully again. I... I want Aisha to be okay, and Elsword and Eve to be happy, and you and Chung to be able to live together peacefully..."

He rocked me back and forth like a father comforting his kid, and whispered, "It'll be okay, Rena, we're all here for you..." quietly into my hair. Finally, I stopped crying, and dried my eyes with my sleeves. "I... I'm gonna sleep for a litle while longer, we'll start heading to the first Seal after everyone is well rested. Please make sure Elsword rested?"

"Yeah, of course. After I check on Aisha. Good night, Rena, and good luck."

I don't know what he wished me luck for, but it was comforting.

* * *

POV SWITCH (Some room on the other end of the house.)

Banthus' voice rung in her head, the laughter still loud and taunting. She still could feel him, his hands, his lips, his-

She choked, backing into the wall and sliding down it, tears coming to her eyes. It felt like yesterday, even thinking about it was painful. She was still jittery, unsure of people, everyone got under her skin. She even still had nightmares, even though she had washed her memories and emotions.

"Eve..."

She gasped, slamming her head against the wall as she jerked back. That voice... Why was he still here...?!

"Eve. Are you okay?"

She stopped shaking, just a little, and let out the breath she was holding. She was just delusional, it was only Elsword. "May I come in?"

She tapped the door twice for yes, and he stepped inside. She gasped, backing away as he looked down at her. "Ah... Right, the eye, yeah?" He covered it with his hair and hand, glancing away. "Here, I'll turn around. Better?"

He couldn't see, but he knew Eve was nodding yes.

"So I just came t' check on ya. I heard... You washed your memries, right? I'm sorry I wasn' there for you, see, I'm only good at runnin' away." He said sadly. Eve didn't move from her spot, but she curled into a ball and looked at the floor. "Um... I just came to tell you that we're gettin' ready to leave. At's all."

As he was leaving, Eve jumped up to catch his sleeve, making an , "Ah..." sound, like she wanted him to wait. "What's up?"

She was silent, but stared at his hand and laced her fingers with his. She swung their hands back and forth slightly, keeping a hand at her mouth. "Eve... Ey, I uh... I grew my hair for you."

She looked at him, question in her eyes. For an emotionless Nasod, she sure knew how to express questions. "I was hidin' the burn... Tryin' to look less like... Him."

He was silent for a long while, stopping the movement Eve was making, but gripping her hand like it was the only thing keeping him alive, and if he let go, he'd disintegrate. "I jus... I didn' want you to be afraid of me, yeah?"

He pulled away from Eve's hand and turned to face her, a fake smile on his face. "See? Nothin' like him at all."

Eve pulled her hand back to slap him across the face for the fake smile, before placing her hand at her mouth and chuckling. Elsword flinched away from her hand, wildly throwing his hands in the air, but calmed down as she giggled. Eve stared at him, a smile on her lips, and mumbled, "That makes me feel better, that you did that for me."

Elsword stared at her, before patting her head and smiling. "Ey, you're already showin' some smiles! Great!"

Eve didn't flinch away from his hand, staring at his chest and nodding in agreement. So much had changed, she was still jittery, even around Elsword, her Elsword, but he was... Something about him was different now. His aura wasn't as kind or mellow anymore, even if he acted like it.

As he led her out of the small room to where Raven, Rena, Aisha, and Chung sat, she couldn't help but think, _'This isn't the Elsword that went into jail. He's still mine, but he's changed._

* * *

So yeah, sorry for the wait on this update School started, and then I kept getting lazy, but IT'S DONE NOW :D I'm sure though, all you Aisha and Eve fans are hating me so bad right now I'm sorry guys, but you're going to hate me even more by the end of this story! I won't lie, this could probably be taken as bashing, but Eve is my favorite character, and Aisha's don't really bother me at all.

Except the shitty ones in PvP that just charge and teleport, they suck-

Anyway, I hope you liked the update, and aren't too angry at me for the incidents in this story. Smiles* I'm gonna get bricked so bad later...


	9. Chapter 8

Ahhhh, Finally! Update, after that terrible TERRIBLE chapter 8! Actually, this update isn't much better, but at least it's something OTL I've started to realize that this is one of the darker stories in the Elsword fandom, and it just keeps getting worse and worse :/ I know allot of people were really upset by the happenings with Eve (the EVEnts lololo... No? Yeah OTL), and I know all of the Aisha fans will be very angry/upset with this update. I just want you all to know in advance:

I DO NOT HATE AISHA, AND I DO NOT WANT TO CONSIDER THIS BASHING. Aisha is a really adorable character, and I love writing her and her personality, she's one of my favorites to write, but I had to for the sake of the story D: In advance, I am sorry, gomen, disculpa, apologia, in every single language and sense of the word, I am so sorry.

* * *

I woke up half past noon, to Aisha gone and Chung standing by the door. As I glanced around the room, my attention was drawn to him and the fact that his shirt was missing, my blankets were gone, and all the buttons on my shirt were shoved in the wrong holes.

"I didn't do anything." He replied at my blush, shaking his head. His ponytail swished back and forth across his back as he turned his back to me, but flared out as he whipped back around. "I just came to tell you that the blanket you were using was infested with a lethal type of tic, and we burned it to make sure they were all gone. While inspecting you for any, they kinda got in my shirt and yeah..."

"You- You inspected me while I was sleeping? Chung, you insensitive-!" I started yelling, jumping up to throw my pillow and jeans at him. "Hey, hey, jeez, calm down! If it makes you feel better, Raven was there too-"

"That's no consolation!" I yelled again, blushing crimson and jumping to kick him. It seemed as though his sixth sense kicked in, and he caught my foot, pulling me to the floor over him. "You idiot- Why didn't you wake me up..?!"

"Oh, trust me, we tried, but it seemed as though you were hit with a sleeping spell and didn't want to wake up. How late were you up last night?" He asked, giving me a blank, half-lidded stare. I stayed silent for a few moments, debating on telling him the reason I hadn't slept well last night, and the reason I didn't sleep after Raven came in and told me to. "... I was... Tired."

He put his hands behind his head, cocking an eyebrow. "Orly now? Then explain the agonized moaning, the cold sweat, and oh yeah, the scars up your side and across your stomach, breasts, and shoulder."

My eyes widened. Oh shit, of all things, he would have seen that, did Raven see it too? Oh god no, I couldn't let them know anything about that scar, anything about the deal... I slammed my hands over his mouth and neck, my body shaking as I gave him a wide eyed glare. "You- How did you know about that scar- Why do you want to know about it, it doesn't mean anything!"

He gasped angrily, gripping my wrists hard enough to bruise them. Finally, he pried my hands away from his face and flipped us over, pinning my arms next to me so I couldn't move. His single blue eye glared right through me, the green light of the Guardian stone glowing faintly behind his eyelid and the thick black stitches. "That didn't seem like an, 'I was tired.' What's really going on here, Rena? Does it have something to do with why you left us?"

"... Well- No, I- That is to say-" I tried to start, before looking away from him. I wasn't about to tell him, and the vibe he was giving off said that if the death of his clan traced back to the reason I was gone, I wouldn't be the only one loosing my head. "Chung, I..."

"Tell me, Rena. Now." His voice was cold, commanding, and bit me like the steel edge of a blade on flesh. A shiver ran through me, but he seemed to pay no notice and leaned closer to whisper, "Or so help me, I'll pry it out of your treacherous, bloody lips."

"I-if this is some kind of dirty talk, it's not working..." I attempted to say flatly, chuckling my nervousness off, but his gaze held my eyes to his, and I could tell he saw right through it.

"Yeah, right. Like I'd talk to you like that. Now tell me about the scar."

"... No."

"Don't be defiant, tell me about the scar." He hissed. I gulped under his gaze, his glare intensifying more every second I delayed. "... W-well, you see, I..."

What should I tell him? Lying was out of the question, he could see right through me... And sugar coating everything wouldn't work, I'd just end up spilling everything in a tear jerking confession, most of the crying on my part. The only other options I had were to continue not saying anything or tell him the truth, neither of which I wanted to do. "Um, I guess... It kind of..."

I fell silent again, staring into his eyes. A long while past, his breath ghosting over my cheeks, before I finally pushed him away from me and sat up, leaning on the wall. He stared flatly at me as I gave a half-lidded look to the ground, my body rapidly cooling from the lack of blankets or heavy layers... Or even a warm body next to me-

I shook my head, giving him a tough look I was sure he saw through, but I made sure not to let it waver. "I'm not going to tell you about the scar, just forget you saw it, okay?"

His eye narrowed further, but he finally sighed. With a huff, he tossed my pants back at me, standing to leave. "Get some clothing on, I'm sick of seeing your skinny chicken legs. Get some meat on those bones, stupid veggie eater."

It took a few seconds for what he had just told me to sink in, and I quickly jumped to yell, "Hey! Vegetarians aren't stupid, you carnivorous... Beast!" But he was long gone down the hallway.

After I changed and checked Erendil for sharpness and dents, I strode outside to the spit, whistling quietly. Only Aisha and Chung sat by the fire, the other three missing or something like that. "Where is everyone?"

"Elsword and Raven are sparring, and Eve... She just disappeared again." Aisha said, smiling. "Did you sleep well?"

"Eh, could have been better. You? How's your stomach?" I asked, sitting next to her. She glanced down at the floor, her bangs falling over her eyes as she placed a hand on the bandages. "Well, I slept fine, but I think it will be a long while before I heal. I don't think I'll be much help to you... Sorry..."

"What, no, don't be sorry, it's not your fault. Even if you can't fight up close like you're used to, you could still use Magical Makeup, right?" I asked, her smiling in the most sisterly way I could manage and patting her shoulder. Her eyes widened slightly, and she gave a nervous chuckle. "Um, you see... About that... Well... Remember that thing I told you, about how we kinda lost to Chloe and Banthus...? Well... Chloe kind of took my pendant... Rendering Magical Makeup and some of my space bombs useless..."

"What?" I asked, blinking a few times. After a short silence, Chung opened his mouth and started, "She said, her pen-"

"WHAT?!" I yelled, jumping up. "Your pendant? Why on Elrios would she need your pendant? What the hell is she planning? Oh god, Aisha, you should have told me, I..."

"No, it's fine, I've managed without it. Besides, we have Chung's tactical field, meaning my mana charging is faster, and that mean more Super Nova's and Energy Spurts." Her grin was devious, and I couldn't help but laugh at it. After I cooled down, Chung caught my attention with a cough. "I think the Elboy and his Crow Friend wanted to see you. You should go check on them."

"Ah. Okay, I'll be back in a little while, see you." I said, nodding and leaving.

As I walked down the path to the wall Elsword and I were at yesterday, I could hear the clanging of metal, the explosions from the bullets, and angered screams from the participants of the spar. I jogged up to the wall, drawing Erendil from it's sheathe so I could raid, when a laser zoomed in front of my face. If I had dropped to my knees and skid a split second later, I would have had my nose blown off. "Eve?!"

"Please Rena, do not interrupt. Forgive my violent reaction, my systems deemed your blade a threat." she stated robotically, taking quick, yet small, strides over to me. I sheathed my sword and turned back to the match, gasping at the black hooded shadow that crossed over the wall.

Raven jumped over the wall, his cloak flaring in the air. Elsword gasped and made a break for it, tumbling out of Raven's way and ducking to the left. He blocked Raven's hand with the small blade, gasping as Raven pushed it out of his hand and sent it spiraling away into the dirt. He attacked quickly, moving with a fluid speed I had never seen before, and pushing Elsword to such a defensive position, the poor kid wouldn't have been able to attack even if he didn't want to.

Finally, Raven tripped Elsword over a conveniently placed, very sharp rock and pinned him down, using his weight to crush his stomach. He placed his hand to the other man's throat, claws digging into the ground around him and only slightly piercing his skin. Elsword gagged, clawing wildly at Raven's arm and squirming, trying to knee Raven in the back. I gasped, getting ready to charge in and help him, but Eve put her hand in front of me. "Fear not, he will do no harm."

"Heh. I won, Infinity Sword." Raven smirked down at Elsword, who was starting to breath raggedly, like he was suffocating.

Elsword gave him and angry look, but didn't struggle. He stared between Raven's eyes and his arm, and then turned away to look at something in the distance. "So what. Get offa me."

Raven smirked and pressed a finger to his chin, before pushing Elsword's face to meet his. Their eyes met, Raven's burning with confidence. "Hey, you're not looking at me. One thing you shouldn't do is look away from your opponent."

Elsword smirked, closing his eyes. "Ey, well, you shouldn' give me sharp objects."

He pulled the knife he was previously using from behind his back and pressed the blade to Raven's chest, twisting lightly to push through his clothes and puncture his skin. "I was this close to getting stabbed in the back. Maybe you'll watch where you drop me nex' time, yeah? I mean, lucky break, and all, but you coulda killed me right here and now if you had thrown me a little farther to the left."

"You... Are either genius or stupid. You dropped the blade on purpose." Raven deducted, pulling back. He left his hand on Elsword's chest, cocking his head to the side in curiosity.

"Eh, well. I'm insane. I 'ave my own reasons for throwin' that blade." Elsword shrugged, pulling the blade away and licking it. I turned away, wondering what the hell had happened to him to make him so... Crazy. Eve nodded, answering my question as if she could read my thoughts. "It seems as though jail time will do that to one's consciousness, his habits are much more irrational and reckless."

"I don't know, Eve. This is the stupidest stunt I've seen him pull so far, you could see how close he was to getting stabbed in the spine, right?" I asked, waving my hands frantically. She just gave me this bored, incredulous look, replying, "No. I did not see how close he was, in fact, he was not close at all. Besides, the trajectory and angle he was falling at certainly wouldn't be enough to damage his spine... Maybe his shoulder blade or a few ribs, but nothing so serious he would die."

I sighed, it was a hassle trying to get her to see what I meant, but then again, she was a nasod, and she did know more about angles and trajectories and spine-damaging falls than I did... As I looked back up, Raven was pulling Elsword to his feet, a harsh scowl on his face.

"So you are still mourning her."

Elsword twitched. "It's not like I even know if she's dead, yeah Crow?"

"You don't. But you're still mopey as hell and it's pissing me off. Get over it." Raven replied, his voice rising slightly.

"Ey, Crow, don' even try to tell me what t' do. I'll kill you nex' time." Elsword snapped turning around and glaring at the former mercenary. "'Sides, what do you have to do with 'er an' me?"

"First off, I know she's still alive, and her mental physique is worse than ever. She needed you, she still needs you, and what are you doing? Wishing for a death sentence from one of Chloe's men. Second, after that pathetic practice match we just had? I practically ripped your throat out, even a kid would have done better." Raven scoffed. I jogged over to them, grabbing both of their shoulders so neither could move to attack without hitting me, and I glared. "Guys, they say make love, not war, okay? Jeez, you're just like kids. Anyway, who's this 'she' you keep mentioning? Do I know her?"

"You might."

"You. Don't."

Elsword hissed the two words out, shrugging away from my hand and brushing his hair over his shoulder. "It do's't matter who she is, just know she's a she. Got it?"

He didn't even stay for a reply, just left back to the camp, Eve following him and catching his arm, holding it as they walked together. Raven hissed, putting his arm up on one of the walls and leaning on his wrist, growling angrily. "Stupid, cold hearted, ignorant angry brat... Wouldn't kill him to be a little kinder..."

"Listen, Raven... I know you're pissed at him for being... Well, insane, but please, try not to let it get to you? I need your level-headedness, to keep us in line and out of trouble." I told him, resting my hands on his arm and shoulders. He gave me a tired look, before sighing, standing, and straightening his clothes out. "You're right. I need to stay sharp. Thank you, Rena, for reminding me what I need to do."

"Yes, very good, very good." A voice chided boredly. Chung pulled away from the wall he was leaning on, his eye narrowed as he glared at the two of us. "Now, Rena, since you're here with me, and Raven's here too, I'm going to ask you one more time: What is the significance of that scar?"


	10. Chapter 9

I'm sorry for shamelessly inserting an OC here but I kinda need him OTL I'll make it up some how, I PROMISE.

* * *

Chung leaned on the wall, arms crossed over his chest, light-blue-and-white jacket in place over a navy-colored shirt that seemed to hug his skin. He had his gauntlet in place, with black jeans and dark grey boots. As he pushed off the wall, he strolled right up to me, jabbing my chest with his finger. "The scar, Rena."

Raven grabbed Chung's wrist, earning a harsh glare. "Can't you see she doesn't want to talk about it?"

"You saw it though, right? Aren't you at least a bit curious?" He demanded, pushing against Raven's hand. Raven shoved Chung's hand away from me, causing him to stumble and curse. "Dammit Crow!"

"Don't you know it's impolite to ask about a woman's scars? I know what I saw, why are you so interested in it?" Raven demanded, stepping in front of me.

"Cuz I think that someone involved with the destruction of Hamel gave her that scar!" Chung yelled, advancing forward to grab Raven's collar.

"Wait, what? Who?!" I yelled, and he paused his advance to glare at me. "Are you familiar with the demon Ara?"

I gulped. "Um… Maybe? I haven't heard of her before…" Complete lie.

His eye narrowed, and he hissed, "You little liar…"

"Wolf." Raven stated. "She doesn't know Ara."

Chung glared harshly at Raven, venomously stating, "How do you know? Maybe she does and just isn't telling me?"

"Why do you want to know about Ara so much?" I yelled, cutting him off. It came out sounding like I was defending her, and I didn't mean for it to. Shit, now he'll definitely know…

"… She… She gave me this." He turned his back and pulled his jacket off, dropping it to the floor, before pulling his shirt up over his head. His pony tail got caught in the collar and stayed off his back, revealing three large scars running from his fight shoulder blade down to his left hip. They were dark on his pale skin and made my scars look like nothing. Whereas mine were just slashes, his looked like a tiger had ripped right through his back. "Wh-what happened?"

He pulled his shirt back on and grabbed his jacket, throwing it over his shoulder as he turned back to us. "She was the one who drove Hamel to it's demise. It was when Crow left us, watched from the clock tower as she cornered us and mowed us down one by one. Here, I'll tell you everything that happened…"

_"When we went back to Hamel, after you left and before Elsword was imprisoned, it was just me and Raven. Elsword, Aisha, and Eve were at different places at the time, and god knows what you were doing, seeing as you went through the portal. We arrived in Hamel to be greeted by my best friend, Tavris, and his wife, Sasha. When I left, he was crowned the new prince, and I formally passed the title on to him some years before. He had married the wear priestess Sasha after we saved her and banished Ran, before leaving for Sander._

_Anyway, he informed me that a horde of demons was coming from a portal opened near Hamel's boundaries. We set to work, evacuating the women, children, elderly, and the young men who didn't know how to fight, the apprentices. I remember before Sasha left, she ran to Tavris, and they held each other for so long, crying that they would be apart. "Just keep the baby safe, alright? I'll return when this is over, so I can see you both." _

_"Promise me." Sasha had said, and they sealed the deal with a kiss. _

_I remember the tears in his eyes as he waved her off. It was like he would never see her again._

_That night, the first wave of demons came. It wasn't hard to fight off, but as the hours went, they got tougher and tougher to fight. Soon, we were fighting at least an army each. A week passed, and they started to let up, give us some slack… But then our soldiers started going missing. They'd be out on patrol and someone would hear a scream, so they'd go investigate and never come back. It was like some monster was snatching them up and eating them. _

_It was during this time that Tavris made me promise him something. He asked me to stay alive, for Sasha, to protect her and his child. I told him that even if my body was rotting, I'd still fight to protect them. He smiled at me, and that was the last time we talked outside of battle. _

_The next night, the demons attacked us again. Wave after wave of glitters and dark elves, battering us with everything they had. We fight back as hard as we could, until our forces dwindled down to so few, it was in the single digits. One of the elves had taken my eye, and Raven was missing, probably to scared too fight them _(Chung earned a harsh glare from the noirette)_. They cornered us and mowed us down till only Tavris and I were left. We were back to back nearly out of ammo, and so low on energy Tavris almost passed out with exhaustion. But we kept fighting, for the sake of Hamel, for Sasha._

_At one point, the demons backed off. We thought they had given up and got tired and were going to give us a break. Tavris collapsed to the ground, sighing a quick prayer of thanks, when suddenly, I saw blood spurt from his chest and he collapsed. I stood in silence for a second, before reacting and running to his side, propping him up. I held him in my arms, crying as I watched his life slip away. "Chung…" _

_"Tavris- Hang on, don't speak, I'll get you out of this-" I started, but he held my cheek and whispered, "No. I'm not going to survive, I know that. You were… You were my brother, my family… I want you to protect Sasha and my child. Please Chung, for me… Please…" _

_"Tavris- Tav- TAVRIS!" I cried over his body for what felt like an hour, and still Raven was no where to be seen. I remember, the first time I did look up and open my eyes, I saw him at the top of the clock tower, siting and watching me. Rage boiled inside of me, how could he have just stood up there and watched? He could have come and helped us fight, maybe saved Tavris from whatever had killed him… At that point, I realized that the hit to his back wasn't completely random, but was and very well placed. It tucked under his armor and pierced right between his shoulder blades, a place that was weakly guarded on his armor. As I moved to examine it, a sharp pain erupting in my arm. I yelped, tumbling away and grabbing my cannon, turning to see a white-haired girl covered in orange and white rags and no shoes. Bandages wrapped around her legs and arms, and the skin on her stomach had one short scar stretching from her hip to her belly button; it was still new. She held a long, white-bladed pike in one hand, elaborately decorated with gold and red. It was covered in blood, and in the other hand, she one of the Glitter's spears. Her eyes were cruel and mocking, and her face had red markings all over it. "You mad?" _

_"Mad? MAD?!" I shrieked, charging her, but she knocked me aside. I stumbled and readied my cannon to shoot her, but she was suddenly right in front of me, grinning. She thrust her spear forward, before swinging it and knocking me off my feet, sending me crashing to the ground. I coughed, and she stood over me, crushing me with the weight of her foot, the red spear at my chest. "Hello, Chung. My name is Ara. It's nice to finally meet you." _

_"What are you talking about? Who are you?!" I screamed, but she jabbed the other spear forward and shallowly cut my cheek. "I'm a demon. I was… Hired by Chloe to kill you." She grinned over me and pulled her first spear back, ready to drive it forward. I rolled away and knocked her off her feet, getting up to shell her to death as payback for Tavris, when she disappeared and reappeared behind me with a flash. "You-" _

_She rushed forward and did three wide slashes with her spear, tearing my armor right off my back and leaving long gashes up my skin. I hit the floor with a cough and and curled into a ball, the pain proving too much. I watched my armor disintegrate, the Guardian stone materializing in my hands. I was about to pull it close and protect it, when she came over, stepped on my arm with bone-crushing force, and stabbed through the stone with her spear. I screamed under her, pleading as she dug her spear into my hand and jerked it around creating a gaping hole there. She pulled her spear away and kneeled down next to me, whispering, "You're just pathetic. Can't even defeat a woman. I'll make sure Chloe knows of this, and thank Raven for backing out and leaving you to me." _

_My eyes widened as she left. Raven was the one who sold us out? He was the reason Tavris was dead, the reason I was missing my stone… It was his fault. All of Hamel's downfall was his fault."_

Chung shot a final glare at Raven, hissing, "And now you know where the roots of my hatred for him lies."

"But… I'm sorry, I didn't know that's how Hamel… Oh god, Chung…" I blinked back my tears, holding my chest. For Chung to hold so much hatred towards Ara… How could she have killed Tavris though? Last I saw her, she was in such a terrible mental condition she could barely even speak, let alone pick up a sword or walk… I couldn't believe he was talking about the same Ara.

"So truthfully, do you know the demon that killed my brother?" Chung asked one last time. I shook my head again, saying, "No. I don't know why you keep asking, it's obvious I don't."

"God, why do you all insist on lying, you know I can see through them, right?" Chung started to rant, turning his back on us to wave his hands about angrily. After a few moments, he took a calming breath, before turning back around and starting, "Listen, so Ara-"

"Chung, you can't hurt her." Raven said sternly, cutting him off. Chung gave him a very angry glare, and grabbed his collar, yelling, "What do you mean by that?!"

"Ara is dead. She… I killed her myself. When we expelled Ran from Hamel, he made a deal with her fox spirit, En, and then killed her. He broke Ara's mind, she was in such a bad mental condition, she couldn't even move. She got better, but she… She begged me to kill her, and then threatened to kill herself. Elsword doesn't know about this yet, and I can't tell him, or he'll probably flip his shit." Raven explained. As he spoke, Chung let go of his collar and backed up eye wide. "She- She's dead-? You killed her- So then… was what she told me true…?"

He narrowed his eye and lunged forward, screaming, "YOU'RE LYING TO ME! SHE CAN'T BE DEAD BEFORE I GET TO HER-!"

"RAVEN-!" A shrill cry suddenly pierced the air, followed by the sound of multiple explosions and the angered cries of Glitters and Dark Elves. Raven looked up to see the tail end of a rotating purple sphere, and he hollered, "Back to the camp, we're under attack!"

"No shit, smart ass!" Chung yelled back chasing after Raven and leaving me in the dust. I hesitated for a short second, before summoning energy into Erendil's sheath and running after them. The closer we got, the more destruction there was, with Dark Elves and Glitters running amok, shrieking at each other to stand up and fight instead of running. I hissed at their hypocrisy and thrust Erendil forward, stabbing a dark elf in the chest before she even saw it coming. Another glitter charged at me, and I pivoted to meet it's blade, slashing across it's side and killing it instantly. I was about to summon some Karma, when someone burst through the trees with two blades in their hand causing more carnage than needed.

I stared, wide eyed, as Elsword tore through the mob, ripping off limbs and slashing sides with this joyful grin on his face. He jumped, kneeing a Dark Elf in the back and stood over her, raising his blade to stab her in the chest-

I gasped and lunged forward, knocking his blade away from him and kicking him out of the way. He hit the floor with a loud thud, and got up with a cross expression. "Wha'the hell d'ya think you're doin'?!"

"Do you even remember what you told me about letting you hurt anything? I can't allow you to continue!" I yelled at him, unloading my blade from the Dark Elf's chest. He flinched and backed up, kneading his fingers. "Aw shit.. Uh, yeah… Damn, thanks, I guess…"

I sighed and turned back to the mob which had cleared sightly, but behind the corpses, the trees were starting to smoke and burn. "It's alright, but we have to go help Raven and them, they look like they're in trouble. Come on!"

* * *

SHE'S TRYING TO REBUILD HER TRUST BUT SHE KEEPS HAVING TO LIE D: IT'S NOT FAIR D':


	11. Chapter 10

We rushed back to the camp, which was already in pretty bad shape. The trees and ground were scorched dry, some of the fires still raging. One of them was burning inside the house, and engulfed it in flames, and the smoke that rose burned my eyes and throat. For two seconds, I thought I had seen the little ghost girl again…. She grinned at me, and then disappeared in a wall of flame.

The rest of the gang wasn't doing too well either. Chung was being swarmed by Dark Elves, who were moving faster than he was, jumping around him and mockingly slashing with their blades. One of them got too close, and he kicked her hand before grabbed her blade and cutting off two of her fingers. She howled in pain, and he made quick work of her, stabbing her in the chest so she twitched and hissed on the floor before quickly bleeding to death. The other Dark Elves backed up, much more serious in their attacks now that they had seen what Chung could to to them. Eve was doing well on her own firing lasers and needles at all angles around her and picking off the oncoming hoard one by one. On the other side of the field, Raven was hacking and slashing away at the Glitters in front of him, yelling out things like, "Are you alright?!" and "Hold up, I'm coming!"

I rushed over to him, screaming as I unleashed a wide slice through all the Glitters that were mobbing him. My Fatality did good work, and all the Glitters dropped to the floor, dead in seconds. Raven looked surprised, but quickly turned and held his hand out in thanks. I took it, and he shook with a stern expression. "We have to get to Aisha. She's in trouble!"

"You got it!" I replied. Aisha was my best friend, and if she was in trouble, I'd help her to the very end. "Where is she?"

"She ran inside a little while ago, but the Dark Elves seized the place! I can't get in!" He exclaimed wirily, staring at the house. I could see some lights flashing from inside, and Aisha stumbled in front of the window. A Dark Elf slashed at the floor after her, but was knocked out cold by a downward bash from her staff. "Oh shit, we have to help her!"

"Guys, I got this." Elsword suddenly said, a devious look on his face. I was skeptical, until he threw both the blades on the ground and said, "Check it mama, no hands!"

He ran over to Chung, who was firing steadily at a Dark Elf. As Elsword got to him, he leaned in close and whispered something in his ear, and then ran back to the house. Chung turned his cannon and aimed it right at us, before firing five bullets our way. The bullets opened up and split into three each, still coming straight for us. We ducked out of the way, Raven screaming, "HOLY FUCK, WOLF!" and me screaming, "YOU IDIOT!" The bullets tore past us, and bombarded the house, the Dark Elves scattering if they didn't get blown to bits in the process. I screamed out some inaudible noise, for all I knew, Aisha was dead-!

A figure emerged from the rubble of the house, and before he stepped out of the smoke, I was breathing a sigh of relief. "I go'chya. It's cool." Elsword was saying as he walked towards me, holding Aisha in his arms. She was clutching his neck, gasping and writing as blood trickling down her side. I gasped and rushed over, staring at her. The gash in her side had opened up and looked worse than ever, and she was bleeding badly. "Aisha- Aisha, hold on-"

"Put her down!" Raven yelled, running over as well. He skid on his knees to her, grasping her hand as soon as he was next to her. "Aisha, hold on, we'll get you treated. You'll be alright-"

"R-raven-" She squeaked, reaching out for him. He took her hand and put it back down by her side, examining her open wound. I kneeled down next to them too, scanning the area for any monsters or Dark Elves or things that could hurt her. The coast seemed to be clear, whatever was left was either running or being shot down by Chung and Eve… "We need to get her closed back up quickly, we can't stay here much longer."

"I know." He hurriedly replied, shaking his head. "But we…."

"Raven-" Aisha squeaked, weakly reaching a hand out for him. He took her other and and kissed them both, tears coming to his eyes. "-Please- Kill me-"

"What-?!" He gasped, tightening his grip on her fingers, his eyes going wide. "Aisha, no! I can't do that! I- I love you! And we can save you, please, don't ask me to do something like that…!"

"Raven, please…" Her eyes started drooping closed. "Please…. My body hurts, and I've lost too much blood- I can't-"

"Aisha, no…. I can't…" He whispered, releasing her hands. "If you die… I'll be alone again… I don't want that, I want to be with you…"

"You heard the girl, she wants to die! If you won't do it, I'll do it for you!" A voice screamed, and before I could register it, a blade came down from right behind me, piercing Aisha's chest. She screamed, blood flying from her mouth as she violently jerked her head back, and then writhed for a few moments before all was still. We sat in stunned silence, minus the laugh of the monster that killed Aisha, and stared down at her for what felt like eternity. Raven was the firs to move, yelling, "No, Aisha!" and scrambling to pull the blade out, check for a heart beat, stop the bleeding, do anything to save her or bring her back, but it was too late. I was next to move, and did almost practically the same thing, before examining the blade protruding from Aisha's chest. It wasn't a sword, not like I thought it was, but instead, it was a spear. Orange, with a regal golden, red, and white blade, blood crusted into the ridges. I gasped. "Ara?! But I thought…!"

"Aww, look, the little Crow is crying… How pathetic you are, couldn't even save her?" our old friend taunted, laughing at Raven's sobs. I couldn't believe what was happening, it was Ara, in the flesh, living and breathing. But how? She was killed, by Raven, right before I left… So how was she still here? Her hair was dyed pure white, and she had markings all up her face, but from the base of her tails to about halfway up, they were being dyed a pinkish black. She was wearing a simple white shirt, with no sleeves and a high collar, and orange wrappings around her abdomen, hips and legs that wrapped over her black shorts. She was grinning madly, nothing left in her eyes but he will to kill and the fire of insanity. Just like…

"You?!" Chung was suddenly there, emerging from the cleaning to the left of the house, blood running over his closed eye. His cannon was at the ready, the fire of pure rage alight in his eyes. "You… Bitch! You killed my people!"

With an enraged scream, he ran at her, and Ara, and she jerked her spear out of Aisha's chest, cutting my cheek and spraying blood in Raven and Elsword's general direction. She spun her staff and charged at him, jamming her spear into the ground and pushing huge chunks of rocks and ground up from beneath her. Chung blocked quickly, and returned her attack with one of his own, knocking her into the air and firing a barrage of shells. I shielded my eyes from the glow, and hen I opened them again, she was right behind him, a sick grin on her face.

"Chung, watch out!" I screamed, but before he could turn, she swept her spear across the ground and knocked him off his feet, before kicking him in the stomach and sending him flying back. He tumbled as he it the floor, but skid on his shoulder and got back to a fighting position, pulling a bomb from his belt and tossing it at her. She lunged over it, sweeping her spear from behind her and grabbing his collar with the back of the staff to throw him high into the air. In a flash, she was next to him, still grinning, and pushed off the air behind her to speed through him. He gasped, arching as she sped behind him and ripped a shallow gash in his side. He fell to the floor, clutching his side and still glaring at her, his cannon aimed at her back. "Don't bother with it, I'm much faster than you are."

"Doesn't mean I can't kill you…!" He growled, and fired a shot, but in a blur of motion, she avoided the shot and was behind him, stepping on his wrist and crushing it with her foot. "I told you I was faster! You're no match for my speed-"

A bullet zipped past her face, and Raven was suddenly standing, glaring at her, his arm up and one blade drawn. "But I am."

A wall of flame tore over the ground, Raven's bellowing voice echoing as he charged after her, ready for attack. She brought her spear up and charged forward, laughing as he screamed, "I'LL KILL YOU!"


	12. Chapter 11

As the battle raged, Eve managed to make her way back to the camp unharmed. She rushed over to us quickly scanning the area, but as her eyes landed on Aisha, she scooted closer to Elsword and held her arm, fear apparent in her actions. He put a hand up and held her head close to his chest, staring down at me as I helped Chung get to his feet. "No, stop, I have to-"

"Chung, we have to get you away from here. We can't loose another person, Aisha was bad enough." I told him, gritting my teeth. "Raven can hold Ara off, but we have to get going-"

I gagged, falling to the floor with a cough as Chung elbowed me in the stomach and nocked me off of him. Before I could recover, he kicked me in the stomach, hard enough to bruise a rib or two. I rolled over, and he grabbed the back of my collar, dragging me to my feet. As soon as I could hold my own weight again, he punched me twice in the face, then kicked me in the shin to knock me down, and as I was falling, he elbowed the back of my head to send me crashing to the floor, where I hit my face on a rock and nearly broke my tooth. He was pulling his leg back to break my face, when Elsword jumped him from behind. It wasn't the smartest move, because they both ended up on top of me and crushed me with their weight, causing me to curse, but at least Chung stopped.

"Chung, the hell you think you doing?!" Elsword yelled, standing to pull Chung away from me. He started struggling, and Eve ran over to hold him down. Before she could grab his arm, he managed to elbow Elsword in the face, screaming as he twisted his arm harshly behind his back. "Elsword, let up!"

I staggered to my feet, wiping the blood away from the side of my mouth. Ara and Raven were a good ways away from us now, and if we didn't resolve this and get to them quickly, someone could get hurt. "Chung, why did you attack me…?"

He glared harsh enough for me to flinch back. "You know damn well why. You lied to me! You told me she was dead! How could you do that to me, Rena?! How could you lie to me about something like this?! She was the one who killed my family, my brothers, how could you tell me she was 'dead' when clearly, she was alive the whole time?! She- You- I hate you! You lying bitch-!"

I backed away from him, staring at the ground. He was right, I did lie to him… But I didn't know that Raven didn't kill her… Maybe he lied to me, or maybe I was misinformed, but whatever the reason, Chung no longer trusted me. I wiped my eyes, his words stinging my very soul, listening to Elsword try to calm him down and the battle between Ara and Raven rage in the background. "Chung…. I didn't know…"

"What?" Elsword asked, staring with wide eyes. "You knew?!"

"No, I said I didn't… Right before I left… Raven told me that he killed her, so I thought she was gone… I never saw her after that either, because Raven doesn't lie… And she… She was in such a terrible condition it would be believable. You know that she was housing the spirit En, correct?" He calmed down, anger still in his eyes, and nodded slowly. "Well, when we went to Hamel, and banished Ran, he made a deal with En to get revenge. But when En possessed Ara, Ran killed her… And took over Ara himself. She woke up with Ran in her head and was in such a bad condition she could barely even speak, and when she got her voice back, she begged Raven to kill her. That's what I heard, that's what I believe."

"….. You…." Chung said, eyes still wide. He ceased struggling all together, and Eve and Elsword dropped his arms. He was silent for a long while, taking in everything he had just heard. "She was… Under Ran's possession..?"

I turned away from him and summoned Energy into Erendil, before running away from them over to Ara and Raven. I jumped high into the air, performing a flying kick to Ara's face just as she turned around, and she screamed as she net flying back. I chased after her, jabbing at her a few times with my blade, before kicking her high into the air. As she was coming down, I called, "Fatality!" and released all of the energy with a sprint forward. She screamed again, her tails dissipating into thin air as she fell to the floor, a oil of blood forming around her. I sheathed my blade with a flick of the wrist, and turned to Ara, checking her body. "Rena!"

"Raven, get the others, and bring Aisha's body. She's only knocked out, so we have to go. Now!" I yelled, standing. Raven nodded and ran over to Eve and the other two. Raven picked up Aisha's body, kissing her forehead and closing his eyes as he did, and ith one fins vance back at Ara and the burnt landscape, we ran far from Feita.

* * *

A few hours later, we made camp just outside of the ruins of Altera, and gave Aisha a proper burial with the people of the ruins of the Land in the Sky. It had crash-landed into a lake, and over the years, was growing into the banks of the lake near by. At the same time though, it opened up a new channel, and most of the water had emptied into another lake, leaving the water very shallow and the drop to it from the edge of Atera deep. The ground closest to the water was covered in grave markers, little white tomb stones that only had one or two letters on them, one for each of the Ponggos that were lost the day Altera fell. We built Aisha a pyre, and with Raven's arm, we set it on fire. We stayed until it was fully burned, meaning the wee hours until the sun rose, and they sky was turning grey with fog.

Finally, we turned in for the night, and I lay down on my bed face first to muffle my sobs. I cried and cried until I had no tears left and until it was dark out again, and then left to get some water so I could try some more. I avoided the graveyard and took and alternate path, jumping down the rocks and cliffs to the banks of the lake. As I got to the bottom, I gasped in realization, hiding behind a rock at the sight of someone. As I stared at him, I noticed his ears, or maybe, his hair, seeing as his tail touched the floor… "Chung?"

He merely twitched, barely glancing at me. "Rena."

"May I sit with you?" I asked. He nodded. I sat on the edge next to him, and looked down to see that he had his feet in the water, his shoes in his lap. "What's up?"

"You knew." He said, staring straight ahead, his body not moving. I looked down at the water, pulling my legs to my chest to pull my shoes off, and slipped them into the water next to Chung's. He didn't seem inclined to move closer, but swished his feet slightly.

"I did know." I replied.

"Why did you lie?" He asked again. I sighed.

"I did it to protect her. I thought she was dead, I truly did…" I told him, the moon making something in the water shimmer. "What's that?"

He looked down, his eyes widening at the thing in the water. I stared harder at it, and saw two, and then three. Soon, the entire lake was shimmering with the strange things, and the more we stared, the more they looked like fish. Chung stood silently, rolling up his pants and splashing into the water. The fish shimmered as they got out of the way of his feet, and he started rolling up his sleeves and dipping his hands into the water to catch some. He chased one closer to the bank, and then reached after it, just barely catching it. He pulled it out of the water and stared at it, before flinching and throwing his hands up with a yelp as he fell back into the water. I laughed, clapping my hands with glee as he got up out of the water and stalked after another fish.

I rolled up my own sleeves and jumped into the water after him, grabbing some water and splashing it in his face. He paused, stunned for a moment, and then smirked at me and returned my say of water with his own. We tussled back and forth, before finally moving back to the bank and lying down to stare at the stars. "You know what those fish were?"

"Nu-uh. What were they?" I asked.

"Spirits. I knew it when I toughed one. They're the spirits of the fallen Ponggos." He mumbled in reply, closing his eye. I sat up to stare at him, before flopping back down on the ground. "Impossible. I would have sensed it."

He shrugged. "Maybe they were cursed. To live a life here, in the ruins of their forgotten home… In a world where no one will ever remember or see them."

I stayed silent, contemplating what he had said, and then started wondering: Will Aisha be forced to suffer the same fate? And what of the rest of us, when we died? We were in no way heroes, and the "Elgang" wasn't a name too many people in the land knew… We would never be immortalized in stone or on paper, after we died, no one would remember us.

"Hey." I said sitting up again. "When this is over, will you come back to the Elven lands with us?"

"…? Why would I want to do that…?" He asked, cracking his eye at me with a lazy smirk, as if challenging me to give him a reason he hadn't already thought of.

"Well… Idunno. We can't really bring the humans back here, to wage war with the dark forces, and I'm not even sure the condition Hamel is in… I think you should come back to the village and finally take a vacation from fighting, a permanent one. It wouldn't be lonely." I said, sitting up on my knees. He sat up too and sighed, staring out at the fish. "… What if I told you I wanted to stay here, with these spirits?"

"…? You'd do that?" I asked, tilting my head in curiosity. "Sure. Why not? It wouldn't be lonely either."

"… But then what happens if they ascend when the war is done? Or he curse is lifted?" I asked again. He chuckled. "Then I'll just ascend with them. After all these years of fighting, I think the eternal peace of the after life will be a blessing."

"… You're a strange person, Chung." I muttered, laying back down. He laughed this time, saying, "Well you're strange too!"

We sat in silence for a long while, and before long, I heard the soft breathing of Chung as he drifted into sleep. It wasn't too cold out, but cold enough he would need a jacket when he got up, so I took mine off and rested it over his body. I pulled my shoes on and started back up the hill to the graveyard to say one last thing to Aisha before she'd never be able to hear me again.

* * *

I'm sorry for the terribly short chapters and then angst and then shameless OC insertion and then fluff and then hugely implied RenaxChung OTL I'M NOT REALLY FOCUSING ON THE PAIRINGS. REALLY. AND I KINDA WISH I DIDN'T START THIS STORY, the chapter I was stuck at was the one where Aisha died, I couldn't bring myself to write it. Actually, it was intended for chapter 9, and then I moved it to 10, and then I didn't want to put it there so I moved it to 11 OTL Gomengomengomensorrygomen I... Hope you enjoyed it anyway...?


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